Jose fumes after defeat:
LONDON. — Jose Mourinho claimed Chelsea didn’t deserve to win the FA Cup after adopting a cautious approach in the second half of their 1-0 victory against Manchester United in the final on Saturday.
Mourinho was frustrated that Chelsea opted to sit back and defend the lead secured by Eden Hazard’s firsthalf penalty at Wembley.
United were poor in the opening period, but they controlled possession after the interval as Chelsea manager Antonio Conte opted to play more cautiously.
Despite dominating in the second half, Mourinho’s side left empty-handed thanks to some fine saves from Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
And the United manager, often criticised for sending out negative teams himself, couldn’t resist the chance to take a swipe at his old rival Conte’s tactics.
“I congratulate them because they won but I don’t think they deserved to win,” Mourinho said.
“I am the Manchester United manager and I have to be respectful, not just because they (Chelsea) are my previous club but because they are the opponents today.
“But I think we deserved to win. I am quite curious to know what you say or what people write because if my team plays like Chelsea did I can imagine what people would say. I am quite curious.
“The image of the game is that (United goalkeeper) David de Gea did not touch the ball. He touched the ball in the net.” Mourinho admitted the absence of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who was only able to feature as a second-half substitute following an ankle injury, was a major hindrance as it encouraged Chelsea to play a more defensive and physical style.
“It was a bit hard for us to play without Lukaku against a team that defends with nine players. You need that presence,” he said.
“Chelsea are not stupid. They know our team without Lukaku does not have a presence, so putting eight or nine players in front of the box they knew they would be dominant in that direct football.
“We tried everything by other ways but they had a huge block of compacted players.
“Every defeat hurts but I go home with the feeling we gave everything. No regrets.”
Eden Hazard’s first half penalty handed Chelsea a 1-0 win in the FA Cup final against Manchester United in what is likely to be Antonio Conte’s final game for the club. The Belgian was being man-marked by Ander Herrera from the first whistle but he capitalised on Phil Jones’ lax defending midway through the first half and was brought down by the defender as he raced through on goal.
Hazard, who now has a complete set of domestic trophies, sent David De Gea the wrong way to put the Blues one up.
United pushed for an equaliser and thought they had it through Alexis Sanchez but the Chilean’s effort was disallowed for off-side.
The Blues frustrated United and held on to redeem themselves for last season’s defeat to Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud has voiced his support for manager Antonio Conte following Chelsea’s 1-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester United.
Conte has been the subject of ongoing speculation regarding his Chelsea future and, if reports are to be believed, might not manage Chelsea again after this season’s dismal Premier League title defence, which saw them finish fifth.
However, French striker Giroud would be sad to see the back of his boss. “It will be sad if the manager will leave,” he told Sky Sports News.
“We need to move on — I have got a World Cup and then I will think about next year. I want to win some more trophies with Chelsea.”
Giroud has scored three Premier League goals for Chelsea since signing for Conte’s side in the mid-season transfer window from Arsenal. The 31-year-old started the FA Cup final ahead of Alvaro Morata. — AFP.