JoseMourinho’s 250th game in charge of Chelsea ended in the best possible manner, with the Blues preserving our unbeaten start to the season courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
An opening goal by Oscar, his second in a week, was followed by second-half strikes from Diego Costa and Willian as we overcame a Villa side whose approach to the game made it difficult to break them down for long spells.
With Tuesday’s Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon looming, the nature of the victory allowed Mourinho to bring bothEden Hazard and Costa off late on, and there was more positive news in the form of a ninth clean sheet from our last 11 home matches.
‘I’m happy,’ said the Portuguese. ‘In the first half we had a couple of important chances to score again but everything was under control.
‘The team were very solid and kept control of the game all the time. Even when it was 1-0, I don’t remember feeling fear, scared or uncomfortable. The second and third goals obviously killed the game but overall it was a very good performance.’
The manager praised Oscar’s display…
‘He played well against Bolton, today I played him again because I think he needs the confidence that comes with matches.
‘His performance was good; he was in important areas of our game, the connection between him, Matic and Fabregas was good, the connection between him and the attacking players was good.’
He believes home form could prove pivotal at the end of the season…
‘In the Premier League we have to get points every game. At home, if it’s possible you don’t want to lose many points during the season because that’s an important factor in the table.
‘We are fine; we’ve played six matches, we won all three at home playing well and scoring goals, we are happy with what we’re doing.
‘We go match after match, the next one in the Premier League is Arsenal, we have a lead of three points over Southampton which gives us the guarantee that next weekend we will still be top of the league. Is this very important? It’s not crucial, because it’s still early, but it’s a gap which gives you a good feeling, it’s good to be top of the league.
‘Everybody knows everybody is going to lose points; I don’t think anybody is convinced Chelsea are going to continue this run for 10, 15 or 20 matches, always getting positive results. In the Premier League it’s always possible, in every game, for a top team to lose points.’
Mourinho is pleased we have goalscorers throughout the side at present…
‘We are playing well, we have different players scoring goals. We are scoring goals in different ways; the only way we haven’t scored is from a penalty, because we haven’t had a penalty. We are not perfect; we have a lot to improve, in every area of our game, but we are doing well.’
Diego Costa scored his eighth goal of the campaign…
‘I don’t care about Diego’s goals, I just care about the team scoring enough goals to win. I know for a striker scoring goals is always nice for his confidence, especially for a player like him, who is not training as he should because we are protecting him in certain situations.’
The manager also provided an update on the way the striker is managing between matches…
‘He’s doing almost nothing, just resting and recovering from the tight muscle he has every time he accumulates fatigue.
‘If he doesn’t go to the national team and stays here for 15 days, just in treatment, recovering and making the muscle stronger, he has the perfect chance to be in top condition for Chelsea and the national team.’
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert praised the Blues after the game.
‘I thought we started the second half well,’ he said. ‘When you come to places like this, when you get a chance you have to score.
‘In my opinion they’ll be close to winning the title and they’ll be close to winning the Champions League.’
Do you think we can do the double, winning both the Premier League and the Champions League?
