According to The Mirror, the Special One was furious with his side after arguably their worst performance of the season, as they failed to register a single effort on goal over the 90 minutes. The Blues qualified for the knockout stages in spite of this defeat, as Schalke failed to beat the Blues’ final opponents Steaua Bucharest. Tired “A bad performance, a deserved defeat, but because of other results, we qualify,” Mourinho said after the match, as reported by The Mirror. “That is the only positive thing from this night.” The Portuguese tactician pinned the blame for the loss on tiredness following Saturday’s match against West Ham United, which came on the back of the international break. He continued, “I did not like anything from the first minute. We started with a defensive mistake. “The team only had a bit of stability and control in the second half. I felt the team was tired; they paid the price of the international break and a crucial match against West Ham.” Inspired The Blues had Petr Cech to thank for the score-line not being more embarrassing, with the big Czech international stopper pulling off a number of brilliant saves. Chelsea’s number one was in inspired form, denying Basel skipper Marco Streller and Mohamed Salah in the first half before the Egyptian speedster finally got the better of him with just three minutes remaining. It could have been even worse for the West Londoners had referee Stephane Lannoy pointed to the spot following Frank Lampard’s handball in the first half, but in the end Salah’s late strike was enough to sink them
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 16:34:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015