Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit back at Arsene Wenger’s jibe at the Blues’ defensive tactics by claiming the way they play isn’t as easy as he seems to claim.
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Mourinho’s side are top of the Premier League and hold a 10 point lead over second placed Arsenal. A win or draw at the Emirates Stadium would practically seal their first league title since 2010.
In recent weeks, Chelsea have focused more on the final result than trying to put on an impressive performance. They snatched a late 1-0 win away at QPR and beating Manchester United by the same scoreline at Stamford Bridge, despite Louis van Gaal’s side having the lions share of possession.
After Liverpool practically lost their chance of winning the Premier League title last season following a smash and grab loss to Chelsea at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers reacted angrily to Mourinho’s tactics and this was echoed by Arsene Wenger recently, who has yet to beat the Portuguese manager in 12 attempts.
Wenger said, “It is easy to defend.”
Quoted by BT Sport, Mourinho responded by saying, “It’s not easy. If it was easy, you wouldn’t lose 3-1 at home to Monaco (in the Champions League last 16).
“If he defends well he draws 0-0 against Monaco and wins in Monte Carlo. It’s not easy to prepare a team to defend.”
Despite his side’s 10 point lead at the top of the league, at such a late stage of the season, Mourinho refused to rule any side out of the running for the title and said, “I don’t care about other things. We are the best team since day one and we want to be the best team until the last day. But, mathematically, they can still be champions.”
If Chelsea win against Arsenal, they could seal the title with four games to go by beating Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in midweek.