After our 4-2 victory over Swansea earlier manager Jose Mourinho had this to say about the game, Diego Costa and our title rivals.
‘The first half was hard,Â’ said Mourinho. ‘The players couldnÂ’t find the references to press so they had too much time and too much space which makes it easy to play football.
‘In the second half the way we pressed them completely changed the game. We had the ball and with the intensity we played in the second half it was difficult for them.
‘Overall we deserved the victory because we were much better in the second half and we could play the football we want to play, and we could give to the stadium what the stadium was waiting for: a win, and if possible, a win in a beautiful way.’
Diego Costa again grabbed the headlines with his 22-minute treble either side of the break…
‘If the team plays well he has to score goals. Seven goals in four Premier League matches are maybe too much – we cannot expect him to have 14 goals after eight matches. It surprises me because it’s not normal – you cannot repeat it in a cyclical way.
‘He’s comfortable in the team. I think now everybody knows Chelsea did the right thing in waiting for him and not going to the market in the last summer of 2013 or in January this year, just to buy a striker.
‘If he keeps scoring a few goals, a few goals gives points and points help the team to be in the top part of the table.’
Loic Remy was the other man on the scoresheet…
‘It was the perfect debut. He scored, at Stamford Bridge, in a special goal at this stadium with no away fans, and he gets the three points. He also came from the national team with a goal against Spain, so no better start for the kid.’
Earlier in the day Arsenal and Manchester City, our next league opponents, shared the points after a 2-2 draw…
‘That result has no consequence, no context. In this moment you just play, you can’t go to mathematics now. Mathematics is for 10 matches to go. At the moment it’s about playing and trying to get the maximum possible points.’
Attention now turns to Wednesday evening’s Champions League opener against Schalke…
‘First of all, the group is more difficult than people think. The top three Portuguese teams, including Sporting, are very, very strong. Schalke have improved a lot in relation to the last season. I haven’t analysed Maribor yet because they are the last team we play against, but our group is hard.
‘We also have league fixtures after our first four Champions League games – Man City, Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool – that are like a poisoned gift, so we have difficult weeks ahead of us.’
What did you make of today’s game? Let us know in the comments.Â
