Mourinho hails 'unbelievable' Blues
Jose Mourinho watched 10-man Chelsea beat West Ham 4-1 and then turned up the heat on title rivals Manchester United.
United boss Alex Ferguson had tried to put pressure on the champions going into the Stamford Bridge clash after the Reds closed the gap at the top to seven points.
But, despite going behind to a James Collins goal and having Maniche sent off after 17 minutes, the Blues stormed to victory.
Hernan Crespo and Didier Drogba made it 2-1 by half-time and John Terry and William Gallas wrapped up victory after the break.
And Mourinho, who had insisted he was more concerned about bird flu than United’s challenge, was delighted with the way in which his side had destroyed the Hammers.
“We showed it doesn’t matter what Manchester United do,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News. “They can win or lose or whatever. We don’t need to depend on their results to be champions.
“It was a good answer (to Ferguson’s mind games). To be with 10 men for so long and win 4-1 is impressive.
“The character of the players was unbelievable. They played very well from the first minute. There was no fear and the spirit was amazing.
“There was a great reaction after their goal and we are getting so much experience of playing with 10 men that it is not a problem for us.”
Mourinho, asked if Maniche’s red card was merited, replied: “From the position I was in, no”, but he was thrilled with the way his players responded. “For most of the game it looked like we had 12 players, not 10.”
Mourinho also paid tribute to Didier Drogba, who was heavily criticised for his antics against Manchester City but responded with a goal and a rampaging performance today.
“It’s the best way for players to speak, on the pitch,” added the Chelsea boss.
Chelsea skipper John Terry also saluted Drogba, saying: “It was one of the best performances by any of our lads this season. He scored a great goal and his work rate was fantastic.
“The individual effort was brilliant and it was a great all-round performance, especially after having a man sent off. We stuck together and worked as a team.
“The pressure was on us going into the game and we had to pick ourselves up after their goal and the sending-off, but we got two great goals and kicked on from there. It looked they had the 10 men.”
Terry, asked if the Blues had a second successive Premiership title in the bag, replied: “Almost. If we perform like that we’ve got a fantastic chance.”
