Jose Mourinho believes any team would have struggled to contain Chelsea’s rampant attack considering the quality of their performance at Schalke 04 on Tuesday.
Chelsea trounced their former manager, Roberto Di Matteo’s side 5-0 to equal their biggest ever away win in the Uefa Champions League. The victory ensured qualification and Group G top spot for the Premier League leaders, who could now return focus to the busy winter schedule.
John Terry, Willian and Jan Kirchoff’s horrific own-goal had Mourinho’s men 3-0 up at the break, before substitute Didier Drogba and Ramires netted quick-fire goals respectively to seal an emphatic win.
Chelsea are playing “fantastic” football with their eyes on the bigger picture; they are getting good results while playing with “happiness, flair and beauty”, enthused the 51-year-old after watching his side dominate the ‘Royal Blues’ in Germany.
The Portuguese said: “The team was fantastic from the first minute to the last. If the result has to be different it must be with us getting another couple of goals.
“The reality is tonight any team that played against us would find it very difficult because the players were fantastic.
“We are very happy because at the moment we are having good results and at the same time we are playing really, really well.”
With the round of 16 ticket within grasp with a game to spare, the Stamford Bridge outfit can, at the moment, fully focus on extending their dominance on domestic front and keep their ambitions intact.
“In this moment we are very confident, we go match after match, step by step,” Mourinho said.
‘”We have one Champions League match in December but we’re qualified and top so it’s a good situation for us. Let’s see what happens at Sunderland with this mentality.”
Diego Costa was withdrawn on 65 minutes after taking a knock to his leg but will be ready for the trip to Sunderland on Saturday, according to the manager.
Mourinho said it is difficult to compare his present team with the domestic trophies-laden ones he managed during his first spell because they are yet to win titles.
He added: “Every team has its own profile. At the moment this team is completely different to my team from 2004 to 2007.
“This team to be better than other Chelsea teams needs to win. At the moment it has zero titles. We have to transform the quality of our game into results, which we are getting now but we have to try to win things so this team goes into Chelsea history as a brilliant team and a team that won something.’
Di Matteo Rues Naïve Performance
Schalke’s four-game unbeaten home record under DI Matteo was brought to a excruciating end, with the Bundesliga outfit dropping to third at the end of the night after being overtaken by Sporting Lisbon, who won 3-1 at home to Maribor.
The result also matches Schalke’s record European home defeat- a 6-1 humiliation by Real Madrid in February in the last 16 stage of the previous campaign.
The Veltins Arena outfit must now win their final game in December to stand a chance of advancing into the knockout stage.
“It was already a difficult evening for us and we made it even harder by conceding so early,” said Di Matteo, who apologised to Schalke fans after the loss. “I was surprised by our lack of confidence, we weren’t aggressive enough and we gave them far too much space.
“We have to look ahead now and put this behind us as quickly as possible.”
