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Home  » Sports » Mourinho plays down Man United title clash

Mourinho plays down Man United title clash

By Robert Woodward
April 18, 2006 10:00 IST
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Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has played down the prospect of winning a second successive Premier League title in their clash with arch rivals Manchester United.

After Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Everton, Chelsea are nine points in front of second-placed United with three league games left. With an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Saturday, their next league match is against Alex Ferguson's United at Stamford Bridge on April 29.

"If it were Blackburn or Newcastle, our desire would be the same. I just want to be champions," Mourinho told a news conference after Monday's win.

"Some people would prefer it at home, some away. The next match is against Man Utd. That is a match we want to win to be champions.

"For me, the important thing is to finish in front of them. The best team are the champions. It's not about luck, not about the referees, it's not about the ball hitting the post.

"The season is over 10 months and the best team wins."

Mourinho said Chelsea, 1-0 up at halftime after a goal by England midfielder Frank Lampard, were always in control of the game and that a red card for Everton's Lee Carsley early in the second half for a tackle on Didier Drogba had no effect.

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Everton manager David Moyes said he felt referees were sometimes "star-struck" when officiating Chelsea matches and felt the sending off was harsh.

"We were playing a really good team and it was hard enough 11 against 11 without the decisions going against us," Moyes said.

Drogba scored the second goal with a thumping header from a Lampard corner in the 62nd minute. The Ivorian striker, at the centre of a diving controversy three weeks ago, has been in spectacular form ever since.

"He's playing amazingly," said Mourinho. "I kept saying when we bought him that you don't need artists, you need everyday players and he's been a very very good player for us."

Mourinho said that a knee injury that forced off keeper Petr Cech at halftime "doesn't seem to be a big problem."

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Robert Woodward
Source: REUTERS
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