Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Chelsea are poised to continue with their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.
The ‘Blues’ have won all four of their domestic games this season- scoring 15 times and conceding six goals- while Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to German outfit Schalke in the Uefa Champions League remain the only time they’ve failed to take maximum points.
“The perfect situation is to score lots and not concede; we have to chase that perfection. At the moment we are happy because we have had four matches in the Premier League and four victories.
“In the Champions League it was not a result we wanted but it’s not a result to make us panic. We are happy with what we are doing. We have a good balance and a good squad. However we are in September and we know we have a long run ahead so we need to try to improve every day.”
Jose Mourinho’s side ended the reigning Premier League champions’ run of 62 league games without a loss at the Etihad Stadium in last season’s corresponding fixture early February, but went on to lose on the same ground in the FA Cup less than two weeks after.
And unlike last term, when the ‘Citizens’ had proceeded to the clash on the back of 11 straight wins, they had endured a mediocre start to the current campaign, having won their first two matches; lost at home to Stoke City and drawn last weekend’s game at Arsenal in their most recent outings.
The Portuguese boss insists matches against presumed title favourites could make a huge difference in the end and reiterates Chelsea will be gunning for all points on Sunday.
“Obviously when matches are between title contenders every point makes a difference,” Mourinho analysed.
“Last weekend Arsenal and City got one point each, nobody got three. These matches in the end can be important, but if you analyse with a simple pragmatic view it’s one game, three points, no more than that.
“Last season we had the experience and we know what it is to win there and to lose there. I’m not exhaustively going through every second of these two matches with the players.
“But last season is last season; statistics belong to history, not to the future. What happened last year has no relation to this season. Can we go there and win like we did last season? Obviously we can. But we can also lose.
“We respect them totally because they deserve that respect. At the same time, we believe in ourselves and we want to win.”
Having said he was managing striker Diego Costa’s hamstring problem after Wednesday’s game, Mourinho disclosed the Brazil-born Spanish striker will return up front at City.
Costa only came in for the closing 15 minutes of the Champions League group stage opening draw, and the manager intimated in his post-game spin that the £32million summer signing from Atletico Madrid is not ready to play more than one game a week.
Mourinho told reporters on Friday: “Everybody is ready to play. Diego is not in the best condition but he will start the game. He plays this game, he won’t play against Bolton, and he plays against Aston Villa. Let’s see his evolution.
“The medical department are doing their best, the player is fantastic in trying to play and being available for the team. We have to try to protect him until he gets completely fit.”
Mourinho, however, feels it wouldn’t be anything out of the scope of football should Chelsea legend Frank Lampard done the sky Blue of Man City against his former club, where he earned reputation between 2005-2013.
“No. It’s football,” Mourinho said. “I wouldn’t imagine that if you ask me one, two, three, four, five years ago (it would be strange). Even a few months ago, when he signed for the New York team, I was not expecting that. I thought he was going to New York. It’s his life, it’s his decision.”
