Chelsea FC 1-1 PSG: Jose Mourinho’s Post-Match Quotes
Chelsea FC took on French champions Paris Saint-Germain last night in the second of their three stateside friendlies. Unlike the first one which ended 4-2 in the New York Red Bulls’ favour, the Blues and PSG fought to a 1-1 stalemate, with the good guys prevailing on penalties. Let’s see what Jose Mourinho had to say after the match.
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Firstly, the boss emphasised that it is still only pre-season and thus no-one should read too much into the result, an attitude that he has preaching throughout the tour:
‘[PSG] started training a couple of weeks before us, they have already four matches in their legs and they are clearly one step ahead of us in their preparation, so this was a fantastic test for us from the physical point of view. It was very important for us.’ (via chelseafc.com).
It was indeed a good test for the squad, who put in a performance of two halves. The first half was pretty terrible, with slack passing, minimal communication, and a tendency to get caught on the ball. The second half, however, was much more impressive with Victor Moses getting rewarded for a good showing with the equalising goal.
Regarding the ‘physical point of view’, Mourinho pardoned Serge Aurier for a number of tackles (seemingly targeting Diego Costa) that were a bit too rough for a North Carolina run-out:
‘Aurier is not a player who normally plays in the PSG team…So he had a chance, he faced the game like a big game and it was important for him, and he was too aggressive. [But] for me no problem, I understand football, and Diego behaved tremendously well’
Here is a sample:
Serge Aurier vs Diego Costa. #CFC #PSG pic.twitter.com/PY2W66Y2Cy
— Arsène's Son 🎈 (@hughwizzy) July 25, 2015
Falcao, meanwhile, took the field in a Chelsea shirt for the first time last night, looking lively. He was always eager for the ball and tried to take on defenders which, although not always being successful, demonstrated a desire and enthusiasm that threw back to the Falcao of old. The boss was also impressed:
‘Falcao, Willian and Juan Cuadrado are with the sharpness but without the fatigue so they looked good, and it was good for them to play this 20 minutes and it was good for Falcao from the penalty spot to put the ball into the net.’
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Lastly, Mourinho had words for a great crowd of over 60,000 fans that packed into the Bank Of America Stadium last night, and mostly in Chelsea shirts too:
‘The people gave us an atmosphere that is not normal in a friendly match. This is a match in which you are not obsessed with the result, you want to train, you make changes in the team because you have a plan for a certain amount of minutes, but the people made it a big atmosphere so thanks a lot for that.’
However, he did also mention that Chelsea’s increased profile has its draw-backs, although with his tongue firmly in his cheek:
‘I see the MLS, I see passion and I see the difference in the street. When me and my players go for a walk, 10 years ago it was paradise and it is not paradise anymore so I think people know us…For 11 years I’ve been coming here and every year I come for pre-season I see a difference.’
The next challenge awaiting the Blues will be a fixture against Barcelona in Washington DC on Tuesday before the Community Shield at the weekend.
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