Two more milestones for Mourinho

LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reaches two more milestones at the club in Saturday's Premier League game at home to London rivals Crystal Palace.

Two more milestones for Mourinho

(Reuters)





It will be his 200th league match, of which he has lost only 20, and a 100th home league game with only one defeat -- by lowly Sunderland in April 2014.

"I'm proud of the record but I don't think it has any influence in the future," Mourinho told a news conference on Friday.

"It's not normal, 99 matches in the most competitive league and a defeat could have happened in so many matches."

In his first spell at the club, between 2004-07, Mourinho won two league titles, adding a third on his return last season.

Chelsea have made a stuttering start to the new campaign with a win, a draw and a 3-0 defeat by league leaders Manchester City, having conceded seven goals in three games and had two men sent off.

The manager believes, however, that falling five points behind is not a problem.

"It's not normal that in three matches you have two penalties against and play with 10 men twice," he added.

"Four points is not what we want but is not a drama. We know we're going to improve.

"Manchester City are a very good team and have started well but last season Chelsea started well and arrived at Jan. 1 with the same points as others."

On Palace's last visit, in May, Chelsea clinched the league title with a 1-0 win.

Mourinho said Alan Pardew's side were even stronger this season and will be "top 10 for sure".

He must do without captain John Terry, who was sent off in the 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

As usual Mourinho refused to comment about transfer targets like John Stones of Everton and Chinese defender Zhang Linpeng of Guangzhou Evergrande.

"I have a good squad. If I get another player, good, but if I don't, I go with what we have," he said.

(This version of the story was corrected to add 2014 at end of paragraph 2 and corrects quote in paragraph 8)





(Reporting by Steve Tongue, editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world