Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mourinho: Spurs didn´t scare us

SoccerNews in English Premier League 8 Mar 2014

72 Views

Jose Mourinho pinpointed Tottenham’s failure to scare his Chelsea side as key in Saturday’s 4-0 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge.

Samuel Eto’o’s 54th-minute opener, an Eden Hazard penalty and a late brace from substitute Demba Ba sent Mourinho’s men seven points clear at the Premier League summit, although their nearest rivals retain games in hand.

Tottenham had Younes Kaboul sent off for the foul on Eto’o that led to Hazard’s penalty, while the other three Chelsea goals came courtesy of shambolic defensive errors.

But Mourinho pointed to a tightly contested first half and the significance of Tottenham’s failure to capitalise when they were on top.

“We were prepared for a difficult opponent, so in the first half we were calm – no panic, no pressure, not surprised by the fact the opponent can come here and play the way they play,” he said.

“But the reality was that in the first half they had control but they didn’t scare us.

“When you feel the opponent is in control but, even when they are in control, they don’t scare you, you are calm.

“You control the situation and you wait for your best moment of the game because we know that the best moment for us will always come, especially at Stamford Bridge.

“In the second half we changed our structure a little bit. The game was much more connected, the distance between the midfield and the attacking players was smaller because (half-time substitute) Oscar was filling that space.

“You can say the first goal is a mistake but the way Eto’o read the mistake was fantastic.

“After that, no story. Complete control – easy to pass, easy to control, easy for our supporters to enjoy and easy for me to be calm.”

Eto’o was a late inclusion in the Chelsea starting XI after Fernando Torres sustained a groin injury during the warm up and it was the former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker’s first start since Mourinho was unwittingly caught making disparaging comments about his age.

But Eto’o impressed throughout ahead of his 33rd birthday on Monday and made light of the controversy with a goal celebration where he mockingly held his back and hunched by the corner flag.

Afterwards, Mourinho was happy to report that he was in on the joke.

He added: “We knew (about) it and we thought it was more than fine because the best way to defuse the situation is to make fun of a funny situation. It was good.

“Some newspapers, they did great with Photoshop. Now they don’t need Photoshop, they just can put the real picture.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top