The boss praised the Spaniard's impact in
Saturday's 1-1 draw at Tottenaham, saying he
"changed the team", before accusing Jan
Vertonghen of acting for Fernando Torres' red card
Jose Mourinho hailed Juan Mata’s impact in Chelsea’s
1-1 draw at Tottenham and said the midfielder had
earned his place in the team for Tuesday’s Champions
League clash against Steaua Bucharest.
Mata has often been overlooked by Mourinho during
the start of the campaign but came off the bench at
half-time on Saturday to inspire a turnaround in the
game and set up John Terry’s equaliser.
"I think this is the way players have to say 'I want to
play'," said Mourinho. "'Blah, blah, blah' is not good,
conversations with you [the media] is not good, agents
talking is not good.
"Good is this - the effort he made against Swindon and
the way he changed the team in the second half.
"I’m a very happy man to say 72 hours in advance he
will play against Steaua Bucharest. He earned that on his
own."
Chelsea looked the more likely winners at White Hart
Lane before striker Fernando Torres was sent off for a
second booking following a clash with Spurs defender
Jan Vertonghen.
Mourinho was incensed with Vertonghen’s reaction to
the challenge and accused the Belgian of play-acting to
get Torres dismissed.
The Blues boss also suggested that the centre-back
should have been suspended for the game anyway after
pulling down the shorts of Aston Villa forward Nicklas
Helenius in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
Mourinho added: "I learned even before I arrived here
what the game is in England and the principles you
have to play. Things like this in other countries people
say ‘the guy is very intelligent’ but not in England.
"That’s why I don’t think the referee is guilty. He made
the wrong decision but the referee trust the player. The
tendency is to follow when the player holds his hands
to his face like a violent action.
"The referee had very good intentions but in that
situation it looks like the player needs to go to hospital
with a broken bone until you see the TV replays. To
push the referee for a bad decision is something I really
don’t like. Maybe I'm old fashioned.
"[Vertonghen] is a fantastic player but he’s a special
guy. Three days ago he left the Aston Villa player naked.
He should have been suspended. The boy was naked,
it’s ridiculous - you go on YouTube and it’s top of
ridiculous videos."
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