Betis in place to surprise Mourinho
Jose Mourinho’s assumption that victory over Anderlecht will guarantee Chelsea qualification for the knockout phase could haunt him if Real Betis surprise Liverpool at Anfield.
The Chelsea coach remained insistent that a win would be enough for the next stage of the Champions League but in reality there are matters outside of their control which could conspire to prevent them joining the rest of Europe’s elite.
Mourinho, who wants his players to cut out the complacency which has clouded their previously unblemished season, could have been gambling on a hunch that the Spaniards do not have the capability to overcome Rafa Benitez’s team on Merseyside.
But the Portuguese master, who leaves very little to chance on the pitch, must know that a win for Betis will leave the Barclays Premiership winners facing the possibility of an early exit from the competition.
For that to happen, Liverpool would then need to defeat the Blues at Stamford Bridge in their final game and Betis take all three points from Anderlecht.
Unusually for a man who studies every minutiae of the glorious game, Mourinho seemed blissfully unaware such a dramatic climax to Chelsea’s Champions League adventure this season may yet await him.
His belief that success over the Belgians would guarantee them a path to the next round is only correct as long as Betis do not dig out the unexpected back in England.
“We have two matches to qualify and we need one result,” Mourinho insisted. “It depends on us to qualify and to be Champions of the group. So everything is in our hands.
“We were without victories for a long time but we came back with a good result against Newcastle.
"The team is happy again because it is much easier to live with victories.
“It was clear for us that after so many good results and maybe because it was too good to be true what was happening to us during the season, that mentally we all relaxed a little bit.
"But after the defeat in Seville (to Betis) we realise that our situation in the Champions League is still quite comfortable because it depends on us.
“We want to get three points to qualify and six points to win the group. We need a victory tomorrow to qualify and for it to be possible for us to still be champions of the group.”
| Related Stories: |
|
