Chelsea are on a high as they go into the match vs Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on a run of 7 games without a defeat with Chelsea a point and 2 places above the side from Manchester but Jose has played down talks that this game would have any effect on the title race. Jose in the press conference ahead of the Sundays clash said:
“Just play every game the same way, and we prepare every game the same way: we want to win. In this moment, with the way the Premier League is going week after week, no result will put a team in a great situation and no result will put a team in a difficult situation”
“Every weekend somebody will lose points. Some weekends more than one of the top teams will lose points. The league is hard so at this stage, mid-October, one game is not going to be crucial.”
“Manchester City are a very good team, of course. But we have tests every week. Every match is a test, and every match can be three points, so it doesn’t make a difference. We have to play our game and let’s see if our game is enough to win.”
Ashley Cole is fit to play:
Jose has confirmed that Ashley Cole is fit and ready to start on Sunday. Cole suffered a rib injury in the game vs Norwich and missed England’s two qualifiers and wins vs Cardiff City and Schalke.
Jose confirmed that apart from the long term absentee MvG, all other players are fit and available for selection ahead of the crunch game.
Strikers are finally firing:
Jose was delighted to see Eto’o break his duck vs Cardiff and Torres bag a brace away to Schalke and has credit the efforts of the forward line thus far.
“I’m happy with all of the strikers. They were not scoring goals but they were working really hard. They were doing a good job for the team and for their team-mates.”
“There are different ways of contributing for the team than just scoring goals, and all three always did that. It was a positive week for Torres and Eto’o because they scored goals and that is what gives them the greatest happiness.”
Chelsea has been on a free run lately scoring 14 goals in the last 4 matches. Our strikers are working hard and with the help of magnificent attacking midfielders goals are coming thick and fast.
Racism and Yaya:
City played and won away to CSKA in the Champions League but the win was overshadowed by reports of racist chants agains Yaya Toure. Jose offered his support but insisted that Yaya is wrong to talk about the black players boycotting the World Cup next year.
“I respect his opinion,” said Mourinho. “But I disagree.”
“I disagree because the history of football was made equally by many races, and the black players have made a fantastic contribution to what football is. Go to the World Cup and it’s the biggest expression of national team competitions, races, and people from different parts of the globe, people from every continent. And the black players are very, very important for that.”
“So I ask who is more important. The billions of people in love with the game around the world, or a few thousand that go to football stadia and have a disgraceful behavior in relation to the black players.”
“If I was a black player, I would say the other billions are much more important.”
“Let’s fight the thousands but give to the billions what they want: the best football. Football without black players is not the best football.”
Jose also insisted that there are no problems between him and City Manager Manuel Pellegrini whose move to Malaga after managing Real was a move dismissed by Jose as ‘a move he himself would never have made’.
Talking Points:
Chelsea are becoming really strong at home and Bridge looks a fortress once again. Chelsea have drawn 2 and lost none of the last 13 games played at the Bridge since the defeat to QPR last season.
City’s away form has been worrying and they would be 14th in the league if only the away games were counted. Also City has squandered most points from winning positions this season – eight in total. Chelsea on the other hand have won every game in which they led and gained 4 points from losing positions.
Hoping the trend continues on Sunday.
Up The Chels!
