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The Chelsea players were accused of behaving like a group of “babies” by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and of failing to cope with the pressure by their manager Jose Mourinho following Wednesday's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ibrahimovic was furious with how Chelsea's entire outfield team team pressurised referee Bjorn Kuipers before his sending off, while Mourinho was visibly taken aback by how the team then failed to capitalise on playing against 10 men for the vast majority of the match.
“When the red card happened the worst thing was the Chelsea players - I felt there were 11 babies around me,” said Ibrahimovic.
Graeme Souness, the former Liverpool pundit, then also accused the Chelsea players of “pathetic” behaviour that went against the best British traditions of fair-play. Ibrahimovic had seemed to try to pull out of a tackle with Oscar but the Chelsea forward went down in apparent agony and then all nine remaining outfield players rushed towards the referee.
Jose Mourinho was devastated to see his Chelsea side exit the Champions League (GETTY IMAGES)
Chelsea, though, could feel equally aggrieved with two other particularly contentious incidents. Diego Costa was denied a blatant first-half penalty after being tripped by Edinson Cavani and was also elbowed off the ball by David Luiz. Costa might still have been sent off himself for a late tackle on Thiago Silva and then a shove on Marquinhos.
Mourinho suggested that Uefa should consider banning Luiz rather than Ibrahimovic for the quarter-final but agreed that Kuipers had been poor. “He [Ibrahimovic] is always honest,” said Mourinho. “He would tell me if it was a reason for a red card. If that's the case, I hope they can minimise the mistake and let him play the quarter-final. But the other situations, it was a clear penalty on Diego Costa and, once more, I think it's a waste of time and money to have the officials on the side of the goal.
“If he cannot see a penalty 10 metres in front of him when it's completely clear in front of him, it's a waste of time and money. The official does absolutely nothing. The David elbow I didn't see but when Uefa give him the man of the match, I have to believe there's no elbow. Maybe they can do what is fair and suspend David (retrospectively) and take Ibra into the quarter-finals, which maybe he deserves.”
David Luiz and Diego Costa clashed again at Stamford Bridge (REX FEATURES)
Mourinho was still candid about his own team’s failings and had no complaint at Chelsea’s ultimate exit despite having twice led in the match. “When a team cannot defend two corners, and concedes twice from corners, that team doesn’t deserve to win,” he said.
“When a team cannot cope with the pressure of being with one player more, playing nat home…we deserved to be punished.”
Mourinho said that he was “surprised” by his team’s fragility and, after a full week to prepare, believes that the issue was mental.
“Obviously it's not a physical situation,” he said. “I always think that your nervous central system is the most important thing. For me, the players felt too much the responsibility of the game, especially when the opponents went down to 10. Instead of being in the game, enjoying the game, expressing themselves, clearly some of the players couldn't cope with that pressure. It's about a lack of concentration, a lack of responsibility to cope with the markers and the space you have to control.”
Mourinho then challenged his players to make up for the disappointment by winning the Premier League. “I'm disappointed but I try always to be pragmatic,” he said. “We must have pride because we hurt and we need to react. We have a Premier League to win. I told that to the players. There's no time to cry. No time also to laugh. Winning the Premier League and the Capital One Cup: that would still be a fantastic season for us. We move forward.”
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Asked whether he felt humiliated, Mourinho said: “I didn't steal. I don't go to jail. I lost a football match. Now I want to play Sunday.”
Laurent Blanc claimed that Mourinho had played “mind games” before the match in saying that PSG were the most aggressive team that Chelsea had faced this season. “Both sides put pressure on the opposition, and Chelsea did their fair share,” he said. “It had happened even before the match with their manager, exerting pressure on the referee. That's part of the mind games, and all fair and good but, if you take out these elements of unsporting behaviour, I think my team were better than Chelsea in every area of the pitch. We played more football and tried to play more football than Chelsea.”
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