Chelsea are the best, Mourinho insists
Portuguese coach turns to statistics to refute claims champions-elect are ‘boring’
J ose Mourinho has launched a fierce defence of his Chelsea side and rejected any suggestion that the championselect of England are boring to watch.
Sunday’s scoreless draw with Arsenal was greeted with chants of “boring, boring Chelsea” from home fans at the Emirates Stadium, although the point gained took the Blues closer to claiming the Premier League title.
The taunts came after fresh scrutiny of Chelsea’s style of play following a run of narrow wins that have helped them establish a 10-point lead at the top of the table. But Chelsea manager Mourinho said on Monday it was ridiculous to suggest his side lacked flair, pointing to a tally of 65 goals in 33 league games so far this season — a total bettered only by second-placed defending champions Manchester City, who have scored 70 goals in 34 games — as proof of the Blues’ attacking instincts.
Quality team
“If we are boring, and if the number of goals is what decides if a team is good or bad, boring or not, then we have in the Premier League 18 teams who are more boring than us,” Mourinho told reporters during a press conference at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, south-west of London.
“In this criteria, only Manchester City are a team with more quality than us, if football is about just the number of goals you score,” he said.
“If a good team is the team with more points, we are the best team. If a good team is the team with most victories, we are the best team,” added the Portuguese manager.
“If the best team are the side with fewest defeats, we are the best team. If the best team are the champions, not yet... but the team that leads, we are the best team.
“If the best team is the side with fewest [goals] conceded, we are the joint-best team. In any point of analysis, in any criteria you can find, we are the best team or the second-best team. So it’s as simple as that.”
Chelsea need two victories to be crowned champions and they can take the next step towards the title when they travel to face Leicester tonight.
Six Chelsea players — John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa — were included in the PFA’s team of the year and Mourinho believes they should have been joined by Cesc Fabregas. “The season Cesc Fabregas is doing, the number of assists and quality of his game. For him not to be there is a bit strange,” Mourinho said. “I think that team wouldn’t win the league. It’s a team without any balance.”