Mourinho 'welcomes' rest ahead of PSG clash

Defeat against Bradford three weeks ago was reckoned a 'disgrace' by Jose Mourinho, both before and after the actual result, but with the Blues still rolling on in all other competitions our missing FA Cup weekends have become something of a blessing. It mans a full week's rest ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 match against Paris Saint-Germain, for one thing, something that Laurent Blanc was famously sniffy about yesterday, sarcastically (fine him) that Mourinho was a 'genius' for having gotten Chelsea knocked out.

Personally I'd rather be playing this weekend, tight schedule or no. But PSG's raft of injuries from their match today rather puts the importance of the rest in perspective -- a full week off isn't merely a silver lining in a dark cloud but a veritable argent rain. Not that it excuses the debacle, of course, but Mourinho's right to welcome it:

The rest is welcome for us. In the end [PSG] have only one game that we don't have. It's only one more game, but I welcome this little rest for the players.

Source: ESPNFC

Aside from Manchester City's draining-looking clash with Barcelona, Chelsea-PSG is probably the closest tie of the knockout rounds, and every little edge helps as we look to once again progress to the deeper rounds of the competition. Let's hope that some real good comes out of the Bradford game as we get ready to visit France.