Arsenal’s 5-1 defeat at Liverpool and Manchester City’s draw against Norwich City ensured Chelsea took over at the summit with 13 games remaining after a 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.
Mourinho said that every point in each game is very important if the Blues must stay top of the table, adding that any of the title contenders could falter when least expected to.
“Maybe the teams not in the top four will be very influential in the league,” he said. “Normally, people are pushed to say Chelsea against Arsenal, or Arsenal against City, or Liverpool against City. These are the matches that decide things. But maybe they aren’t. “In other leagues, it is like that. Madrid versus Barcelona decides the title. Benfica v Porto decides the title. It’s not the same situation here.
The title is decided match after match. “Every game is important. If we don’t win this game, it’s not just about the title contenders to jump to the leadership again. It’s also about Tottenham to win, Everton to win, and closing also the gap. At this moment, every point is important.” Mourinho is boosted with the return of Fernando Torres. “John Terry is still out but Fernando is back and available for selection.”
“I expect John to be back for the next game against Man City,” he said. Meanwhile, Pepe Mel believes his West Brom players will draw extra motivation to beat Chelsea from Jose Mourinho’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ jibe delivered after their controversial draw at Stamford Bridge. “I think it is possible. But the best motivation for playing against Chelsea is Chelsea. It’s possible to win. Mourinho was the coach of Real Madrid and we beat them 1-0 when I was at Betis,” he said.
“It was a more important match for Jose than for me because when they lost this match Real Madrid lost La Liga,” said Mel. ‘That’s the same here. For now Chelsea are top of the Premier League. I think they are the favourites to win now. Only if they lose this match is it possible they won’t be.
“Real Madrid played Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema, very big players. “But it’s the same against Chelsea. Eden Hazard, Oscar, Fernando Torres, Willian are very good players. “It needed hard work on the pitch to beat Madrid, good defence, good counter-attack and to not let Ronaldo play.
He was important to Real Madrid. For Chelsea it’s the same. Hazard is now in the top five in the world. He is a very, very good player.” pmnewsnigeria
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