Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho blames 'two ridiculous mistakes' for Champions League defeat to Porto
His side produced a chaotic defensive display in their Group G clash
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho blamed “two ridiculous mistakes” for Chelsea’s Champions League defeat at Porto on Tuesday night, insisting that the overall performance of the team was “good”.
Chelsea’s defensive struggles continued as Porto made enough chances to win the game comfortably. While Mourinho has been very critical of his player this week, last night he defended their display, arguing that the two goals they conceded – to Andre Andre and Maicon – were out of context with the game.
“It was a good performance with two ridiculous mistakes,” Mourinho said afterwards. “Sometimes you make that kind of mistake and you are not punished. Tonight we were punished.”
Andre scored from close range in the first half, while Maicon headed in a corner in the second half. “The second goal, for us it is a ridiculous mistake,” Mourinho said.
“We watch dozens and dozens of repititions of Porto taking corners. I thought we were completely ready for that. And in a moment when the game was under control and we were preparing a change, we concede that goal.”
Mourinho has always prioritised defensive organisation, especially from set pieces, but Chelsea have lost that this season and Mourinho admitted his frustration.
“The two mistakes [from corners] were difficult to accept,” Mourinho said. “The basic thing in football to work at is a defensive set-play. The ball is stopped, you defend the spaces or the man or both, but to concede the second goal was like ice in the players.”
Mourinho had dropped Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic to the bench, while Oscar, Loic Remy and Falcao were not even included in the squad. But Mourinho spared his players his harshest judgements in the press conference after their latest defeat.
“I don't think my players deserve me to be critical with them, apart from the two mistakes they made,” he said. “But I won't point the finger to one or another. Two mistakes cost us, the game was fantastic.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments