JOSE Mourinho has downplayed a spat with Diego Costa during Chelsea’s win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, saying he and his striker made up with “kisses and cuddles”.
The Blues cruised to a 4-0 win in Israel to move into pole position to qualify for the knockout stages from Group G.
But the match was not without incident, as Mourinho complained about the state of the playing surface and was involved in a confrontation with one of his own players as the teams went in at half-time.
Chelsea were leading 1-0 at that point thanks to Gary Cahill’s goal, but tensions were running high for Mourinho, who visibly argued with Costa before the latter was restrained by John Terry.
“I wanted him to do a certain movement that he didn’t,” explained Mourinho of the striker, who ended a six-match scoreless run against Norwich.
“I was disappointed. I reacted. He reacted too. At half-time in the dressing room – a few kisses and a few cuddles.”
Mourinho admitted he was happy with his side’s first half display but felt the scoreline flattered them.
“In the first half I could feel only the bad pitch stopped us from playing even better when we reached the last third,” he said.
“I think we played better matches than today, but we lost. In the second half in the first 15, 20 minutes, I think we slept.
“We were too confident, we were waiting for the second goal to come. Only when we felt that we were in danger we had a good reaction. Maccabi deserved something more than what they got.”
A draw against Porto at Stamford Bridge on the final match day will be enough for the Blues to advance to the knockout stages, but Mourinho wants a win.
“I need a calculator,” he said. “I know if we win, we finish first. I know if we lose, we are going to Europa League. With the draw I don’t know.” (Chelsea could still qualify with a loss if Dynamo Kiev fail to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv.)
“I prefer to think we have to win our match and that’s it.” – SKY SPORTS
