We Ain't Got No History - 2015-16 Champions League, Match 6: Chelsea 2-0 FC PortoChampions of Europe!https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52884/21_SBN_002_We_Aint_Got_No_History_Favicon_32x32..png2015-12-17T10:56:59+00:00http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/rss/stream/96365972015-12-17T10:56:59+00:002015-12-17T10:56:59+00:00Times: Another Chelsea dressing room leak story
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<p>Cesc Fàbregas was recently cleared several times over of being the leader of the so-called "mutiny" against Mourinho, that supposed uprising of Player Power, of which nothing came, that the papers were running with not that long ago. Yet it is his name again that is central to Matt Hughes's "exclusive" in The Times about a supposed dressing room leak. And we all know how much Jose supposedly dislikes dressing room leaks!</p>
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<p>The Times has been told that the Chelsea manager deliberately used the word "betrayal" in three post-match interviews to convey his feeling of being undermined from within his dressing room, as a result of his belief that Porto gained knowledge of his starting line-up before last week's Champions League tie at Stamford Bridge.</p>
<p>Mourinho had sprung a surprise by dropping Cesc Fàbregas to the bench, but was astonished to discover through a contact from his time at the club that Porto were aware of his plans before kick-off. Mourinho goes to great lengths to keep his team selection and tactics a secret —€” instructing players not to tell family members or their agents whether they will start in the next game —€” and so concluded that the leak must have come from within. Although Mourinho has yet to find the alleged culprit, there is no suggestion that Fàbregas was involved...</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-source: <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/football/article4643160.ece">Times</a></p>
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<p>Wonder who leaked the story about a leak to Hughes? Leak-ception! Then again, given the tone of the rest of the piece, which even positions Mourinho's and Cheslea's annual hospital visit as something not normal for when there's such crises going on at the club, I'm not sure we need to put too much stock into these rumors.</p>
<p>Mourinho's recent unhappiness may or may not have something to do with some minor lineup leak — even my semi-educated guess didn't think Fabregas would start in the pivot with Matic (though I did think Cesc would still be there instead of Oscar) — but it most definitely has something to do with our terrible play in our last two Premier League matches. I would assume that's what occupies Mourinho's mind 99.8% of the time.</p>
<p>Not to mention, <a href="http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/14/10139254/chelsea-fc-jose-mourinho-post-match-interview-leicester-city-premier-league">the actual "betrayal" quote</a> was quite specifically about our level of play in Leicester and not following what was talked about in training beforehand, not squad selection in Portugal.</p>
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<p>"...[Vardy & Mahrez goals] very difficult to accept because I feel that my work was betrayed, if these are the right words."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Jose Mourinho</p>
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https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/17/10384344/chelsea-dressing-room-leak-times-exclusiveDavid Pasztor2015-12-14T10:32:00+00:002015-12-14T10:32:00+00:00Tactical notes from midweek
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<figcaption>Clive Rose/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>We try our best to bring you wall-to-wall Chelsea coverage here at <i>We Ain't Got No History</i>, but one area where we've been lacking a bit lately is tactical analysis, especially with regards to individual matches. The contributors who used to enlighten and entertain us in this respect have all become super busy with other things and, so far, no one's stepped up as a potential replacement. There's an opportunity to grab here for any of you, or anyone you may know, by the way.</p>
<p>Until then, we have to make do with others taking a look. One of those others is Chelsea's own Pat Nevin, who may just be the best analyst working in English football media now that Gary Neville has returned to an active career as Valencia manager. Nevin's video, embedded above, concentrates on Diego Costa's improved play and improved movement. We all could appreciate this welcome development during the match as well, but it's still nice to see it emphasized in isolation and without all the other noise.</p>
<p>The other report comes from the venerable <a href="http://spielverlagerung.com/2015/12/12/chelsea-porto-20/">Spielverlagerung</a> — Ball... movement (?) — website, who take an overall look at Wednesday's tactical offerings, including Porto's disappointing tactics (lack of wide runners; no presence in the box) and Chelsea's classic brand of defending (conceded possession in non-threatening areas).</p>
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<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">NEW ANALYSIS Chelsea 2-0 Porto Analysis of Chelsea's brilliant defence + Porto's awful 3-5-2 <a href="https://t.co/onCwlHhfBS">https://t.co/onCwlHhfBS</a> <a href="https://t.co/pIKOZ5Idde">pic.twitter.com/pIKOZ5Idde</a></p>
— TT (@flyingwingback) <a href="https://twitter.com/flyingwingback/status/675779802591305728">December 12, 2015</a>
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<p>The article puts great emphasis on Chelsea's team defending, which is something that Mourinho touched on as well, plus our effective counter-attacks and pressing from the front, with the aforementioned Diego Costa playing a big role there, too. <a href="http://spielverlagerung.com/2015/12/12/chelsea-porto-20/">You should read it</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, now the trick will be to build on this performance, or perhaps replicate it exactly against Leicester City tonight.</p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/14/10069644/tactical-notes-from-chelseas-2-0-win-over-porto-in-the-championsDavid Pasztor2015-12-11T09:57:00+00:002015-12-11T09:57:00+00:00Chelsea vs. FC Porto: Player Ratings
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<figcaption>Clive Rose/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<b>1. WILLIAN </b>- AM</td>
<td style="width: 50px; height: 50px; vertical-align: middle; font-size: 30px; text-align: center; color: white; background-color: black;"><i>8.7</i></td>
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<span class="statwords">Minutes played</span><span><b>90</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Touches</span><span><b>66</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Passes</span><span><b>37/55</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Shots</span><span><b>2*/2</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Take-ons</span><span><b>2/6</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Tackles</span><span><b>5</b></span>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">A very strange thing happened in this game.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/">Chelsea</a> won! And won comfortably. But no, that wasn't the strangest thing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Willian played well! Also not strange.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Willian played well AND the rest of the team did as well! Ding ding ding!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">So many times this season Willian poured his heart and soul and ridiculous free kick magic into the proceedings only for the rest of the team to not fail to follow suit. But not this time. This time, they followed our leading goalscorer's example and showed a glimpse of a "true" Chelsea, the title-winning Chelsea, the non-terrible Chelsea.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Long may this continue, but especially on Monday, away to <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://fosseposse.sbnation.com/">Leicester City</a>.</div>
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<b>2. KURT ZOUMA </b>- DC</td>
<td style="width: 50px; height: 50px; vertical-align: middle; font-size: 30px; text-align: center; color: white; background-color: black;"><i>8.1</i></td>
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<span class="statwords">Minutes played</span><span><b>90</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Touches</span><span><b>38</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Passes</span><span><b>16/23</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Clearances</span><span><b>5/5</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Tackles</span><span><b>3</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Blocks+INTs</span><span><b>6</b></span>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">What else can be said that hasn't been said recently about the young man so key to our suddenly much improved defense (fourth clean sheet in the last five)?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">While Terry and Zouma were largely unchallenged in the game, there was a moment in the second half when Zouma got isolated against the young and exciting and tricky Tecatito Corona, and proceeded to body off the younger player like one would swat away a fly with the world's largest flyswatter. So sorry, little boy. That's our ball and you can't have it.</div>
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<b>3. EDEN HAZARD </b>- AM</td>
<td style="width: 50px; height: 50px; vertical-align: middle; font-size: 30px; text-align: center; color: white; background-color: black;"><i>8.0</i></td>
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<span class="statwords">Minutes played</span><span><b>89</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Touches</span><span><b>50</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Passes</span><span><b>27*/39</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Take-ons</span><span><b>2/4</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Fouls drawn</span><span><b>4</b></span>
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<span class="statwords">Tackles</span><span><b>4</b></span>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned before, we always expect greatness from <span>Eden Hazard</span>. We didn't get it over the weekend against Bournemouth and this game probably wasn't a "great" performance either per se, especially when compared with what we know he can do. But it was still pretty pretty pretty pretty good, and that's far better than what's come far too regularly before this season. And he put in a good shift defensively, too!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">It's coming together, it's all coming together, I tells ya. (Monday's result will prove me right or wrong.)</div>
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<p><i>STARTERS:</i><br>Courtois (<b>7.8</b>), Azpilicueta (<b>7.4</b>), Terry (<b>7.7</b>), Zouma (<b>8.1</b>), Ivanović (<b>6.8</b>), Matić (<b>7.9</b>), Ramires (<b>7.2</b>), Hazard (<b>8.0</b>), Oscar (<b>7.8</b>), Willian (<b>8.7</b>), Costa (<b>7.4</b>)</p>
<p><i>SUBS:</i><br>Pedro (<b>6.6</b>), Mikel (<b>6.3</b>), Rémy (<b>6.2</b>)</p>
<p><i>OVERALL:<br></i> <a href="https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4329499/Untitled.0.png"> <figure class="e-image">
<img alt="2015-16 player ratings - porto H" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G9dgXkGD6itEiV661osGJt98mpI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4344901/Untitled.0.png">
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</a></p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/11/9890934/chelsea-vs-fc-porto-player-ratings-man-of-the-matchDavid Pasztor2015-12-11T06:09:00+00:002015-12-11T06:09:00+00:00More important words with Diego Costa
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<figcaption>Clive Rose/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Diego Costa hasn't had too grand of a time in England, and not just this season, if certain circles of the media and public are to be believed. Despite leading last year's Premier League champions in goals, there are constant rumors of him wanting to leave, either due to strife with the manager or due to things like #CostaCrimes and the the undue criticism he gets from far too many people in general, or just simple home-sickness for the better weather and less mean defenders (Gabriel excepted) of La Liga.</p>
<p>He probably brings some of this onto himself with his on-pitch antics and behaviour, but he is undoubtedly the target of the vast majority of the scrutiny reserved for Chelsea players, from just about day one of his arrival to this country. Fortunately, Costa claims he doesn't listen to all that noise, even if he wanted to, for the simple reason of not speaking the language yet.</p>
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<p>"The English media want me to leave England as soon as possible. Because it's not normal what they say. But I do not speak English yet so the truth is that I do not hear what they say. When things are going well people put you in heaven and when things goes wrong they put you in hell."</p>
<p>"But the truth is that I'm happy here. Every day I am more settled. The only thing which I'm not happy about is the situation of the team. But If I were happy with that it would be very ungrateful. I have to improve and the team has to improve."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/diego-costa-speaks-out-about-his-chelsea-future-relationship-jose-mourinho-1532701" target="_blank">IBTimes UK</a></p>
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<p>The whole bib incident (bib-gate?) has taken center stage lately, too, with far too much discussion and time devoted to it already. Costa is ready to move on from the episode; although he admits he didn't display a good attitude with that act.</p>
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<p>"No way. People have made a party about this. If I want to throw the bib at him it would have been impossible to fail because I was very close. But anyway the attitude was not good. It was disrespectful not only to him but to my teammates. But as the dressing room loves me nothing happens."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/diego-costa-speaks-out-about-his-chelsea-future-relationship-jose-mourinho-1532701" target="_blank">IBTimes UK</a></p>
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<p>Ain't no party like a bib-throwing party.</p>
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<p>"[Had I hit Mourinho with the bib] I'd be taken out of the club. I didn't want to throw it at Mourinho at any moment because despite being my manager, my boss, we do have a great relationship. Even though the press says otherwise."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; source: <a href="http://espn.uol.com.br/video/563709_diego-costa-estou-frustrado-por-que-neste-ano-nao-estou-tao-bem">ESPN Brasil</a></p>
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<p>Compared to last season, Diego Costa looks like a shell of his former self. Struggling for form and goals, his latest performance against Porto, coming after a supposed heart-to-heart with the manager, might have been a sign of things turning for the better.</p>
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<p>"[José Mourinho] spoke with me but he doesn't need to explain anything. The manager has the respect of everyone. The only thing he asked of me is what I had to do but he doesn't have to explain because he is the boss."</p>
<p>"I know that I'm not playing well. The manager was very honest with me. We have a very good relationship and everything has gone well. I don't need someone to tell me that I'm not having a great season. I know it and it is normal that the manager tries to find different alternatives to win games. I have to work hard in the training sessions and take the opportunities to improve."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/diego-costa-speaks-out-about-his-chelsea-future-relationship-jose-mourinho-1532701" target="_blank">IBTimes UK</a></p>
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<p>"I'm frustrated about myself because I know things haven't been at the right place. This year I haven't been that good, so I know that in a club like Chelsea, in a big club like this one, there are always players ready to take your place."</p>
<p>"So I know that I need to improve and that's it. I think that's where my frustration comes from. I always want to do my best and things aren't coming out as I planned but Mourinho trusts me and [yesterday] I had a good game."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; source: <a href="http://espn.uol.com.br/video/563709_diego-costa-estou-frustrado-por-que-neste-ano-nao-estou-tao-bem">ESPN Brasil</a></p>
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<p>About José Mourinho's managerial situation, Costa assures that the manager will be staying with the club until the end of the season — but did he emphasize "stay" or "this"? — and that he's not the only culprit to Chelsea's bad results.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"We know that the manager is going to stay here until end of season. Fans like him so much, the board respect him and the players know that he is very important for us."</p>
<p>"Despite things not going well he is not to blame. One thing is when one thing doesn't work but when four or five players are not playing it is more difficult. The manager has been fighting and encouraging us to turn this around."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/diego-costa-speaks-out-about-his-chelsea-future-relationship-jose-mourinho-1532701" target="_blank">IBTimes UK</a></p>
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<p>Wednesday's win should restore some of the missing confidence in the team, and hopefully Chelsea can kick on to other important results in the important games coming up. While Costa was very happy with the win, he still misses not seeing his dear old friend, the back of the goal.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"It was important to score early. The team were good throughout the whole game. It was very important to win. We came from a very bad run. It was important to win to give joy to the people and also to the manager."</p>
<p>"[Mourinho] was having a bad time. Not just him, all were bad but as he is the boss people are always looking for someone to blame. Leicester are having a great campaign but we are Chelsea and we have to go there to win."</p>
<p>"I played well but I still miss the goal. I felt well and now I need to keep working and the goals will come."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/diego-costa-speaks-out-about-his-chelsea-future-relationship-jose-mourinho-1532701" target="_blank">IBTimes UK</a></p>
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https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/11/9884706/chelsea-fc-diego-costa-porto-champions-league-interviewFellipe MirandaDavid Pasztor2015-12-10T21:23:57+00:002015-12-10T21:23:57+00:00ESPN Brasil: Ramires, Oscar, Costa interviews
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<figcaption>Clive Rose/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Good team performance, good result and qualification to the Champions League knockout phase as a result. Everything went according to plan for <a href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chelsea</a> in yesterday's game against Porto at Stamford Bridge.</p>
<p>Three of our Brazilians stopped by to speak with Brazilian TV after the match, taking stock of our performance and looking ahead to the knockout round.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"At least at this stage [in the Champions League] you can get opponents that aren't so strong, since you can 'postpone' facing them."</p>
<p style="text-align: right; ">-Ramires; Source: <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.uol.com.br/video/563568_oscar-elogia-atuacao-contra-o-porto-diego-costa-destaca-atitude-do-chelsea">ESPN Brasil</a></p>
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<p>Gent, for example, would certainly be more preferable than the likes of Juventus of Paris Saint-Germain.</p>
<p>Along with the rest of our attacking players, Oscar also had a strong performance, resembling last season's efforts as he could be seen popping up all over the pitch, both in attack and defense. For the 24-year-old, as for most observers, the score could have been more lopsided had Chelsea not wasted so many chances to score:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"If we play the way we know how to, we will play the way we did [yesterday]. It could have been three, four, five-nil; we wasted many chances. We have to keep on playing this way."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Oscar; Source: <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.uol.com.br/video/563568_oscar-elogia-atuacao-contra-o-porto-diego-costa-destaca-atitude-do-chelsea">ESPN Brasil</a></p>
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<p>One of the players with the most focus from the media and the public, <span>Diego Costa</span> also had a good performance, especially when compared to his previous outings this season (perhaps a result of Mourinho's "<a target="_blank" href="http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/8/9870430/mourinho-diego-costa-chelsea-training-tactics">tactical talks</a>"?). Costa said the Porto result will give the Blues more confidence ahead of their Premier League match against Leicester.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"I think [yesterday]'s game was very important to give the group more confidence. We come into a season that hasn't been good, and the supporters expected [a win] so we entered the pitch with a different mentality. The team played well, that's important. So we know that in our next game, we need to get on the pitch with the same attitude that we had because this is the way for things to become calm again."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; Source: <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.uol.com.br/video/563568_oscar-elogia-atuacao-contra-o-porto-diego-costa-destaca-atitude-do-chelsea">ESPN Brasil</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Next up are Leicester City, the league leaders, but if Mourinho and his team could figure out and neutralize Julen Lopetegui's Porto, it's not unreasonable to think that we could do the same to contain Mahrez, Vardy and the rest of Claudio Ranieri's squad.</p>
<p>Up the Blues!</p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/10/9884578/chelsea-fc-oscar-ramires-diego-costa-interview-champions-league-portoFellipe Miranda2015-12-10T20:24:24+00:002015-12-10T20:24:24+00:00Matic: We will try to win the Champions League
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<figcaption>Clive Rose/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>By handing a solid defeat to Porto at the Champions League in yesterday's game, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/">Chelsea</a> players, manager, fans seem to be in high spirits after proving many doubters wrong about our chances of going through in the competition. Speaking to UEFA's official website, defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic claims the team is set to push these perceived limits even farther, all the way to winning the competition altogether once again:</p>
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<p>"The Champions League is a tough competition and there are a lot of good teams still in it but I hope that we can do something. Chelsea won it before and we will try to do it again. There is still a long way to go but we will give it our best."</p>
<p>"We respect the fact that we are representing English football and we are doing it very well. We have come first in the group and that's not easy. I am happy we have done that and the atmosphere is very positive in the squad."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Nemanja Matic; Source: <a href="http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2316510.html?" target="_blank">UEFA.com</a></p>
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<p>Given our slim chances of achieving a top four league finish, it shouldn't be much of a surprise if the team chooses to focus their attention in competitions that we still have a chance of winning, such as the Champions League itself and the FA Cup. And I'm sure most Chelsea fans wouldn't be opposed to a run similar to the one made in the 2011-12, which resulted in a Champions League title - and berth - as well as a FA Cup trophy, although at the cost of losing a Portuguese manager and a top-four finish in the league.</p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/10/9884646/chelsea-fc-nemanja-matic-champions-league-interviewFellipe Miranda2015-12-10T08:46:22+00:002015-12-10T08:46:22+00:00Costa: 'My relationship with Mourinho is amazing'
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<p><span>Diego Costa</span> may have failed to score against Porto on Wednesday, but he still made his presence felt with good movement, good link-up play, provoking a couple yellow cards, and collecting one himself, too, for a silly little incident with Iker Casillas ("we just had a joke"). All in a day's work for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/">Chelsea's</a> main striker.</p>
<p>Speaking of incidents, <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-star-diego-costa-i-was-wrong-to-throw-a-bib-at-mourinho-but-our-relationship-is-amazing-a3134066.html">talking with Spanish radio after the match</a>, Costa took responsibility for bib-gate from the Spurs match and claims that all is good between him and the Chelsea manager.</p>
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<p>"The bib [incident] is in the past. I made a mistake, but my relationship with Mourinho is amazing, we get on really well. There are things you need to control, but the bib thing was an impulse."</p>
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<p>One thing he should be able to control is finishing and scoring goals, which, despite <a href="http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/9/9882274/mourinho-pleased-with-diego-costa-thinks-he-could-have-scored-two-or">Mourinho's praise</a>, was an issue yesterday as well when he took just two shots.</p>
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<p>"I have to improve a bit. The start of the season has not been good for me - not in how I have played nor in goals."</p>
<p>"The truth is Chelsea haven't been in a great moment, above all losing the other day at home (against Bournemouth). It was important to win (against Porto) to make the fans happy and to recover our confidence."</p>
<p>"I know I have to be better to go to Euro 2016 with Spain. I have to work hard and fight, but I know I have time to improve and I hope I will."</p>
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<p>More goals would probably put an end to the Atlético return rumors as well. Unlike the following words.</p>
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<p>You never know, look where <span>Filipe Luis</span> is now."</p>
<p>"Life is full of surprises - I always wish Atletico the best and I always follow them, support them from afar."</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">-Diego Costa; source: Onda Cero via <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-star-diego-costa-i-was-wrong-to-throw-a-bib-at-mourinho-but-our-relationship-is-amazing-a3134066.html">Standard</a></p>
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<p>Costa has well over 3 years left on his current contract; he's not going anywhere. Especially if he keeps helping Chelsea to long-over due wins.</p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/10/9884200/costa-reflects-on-the-bib-incident-mourinho-relationship-potentialDavid Pasztor2015-12-10T01:05:48+00:002015-12-10T01:05:48+00:00Mourinho praises attitude following Porto win
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<p>Chelsea won their group on Wednesday, with a 2-0 victory over FC Porto at Stamford Bridge. That victory had manager Jose Mourinho doing his best impression of a smile, and he was most pleased with the way his squad responded in a match <a href="http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2015/12/final-whistle-verdict--brave-display.html" target="_blank">where a draw would see them through</a>:</p>
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<p>‘The thing that I’m most happy with, apart from the result, is the fact we needed a point to qualify and the players accepted the challenge of playing to win. That’s not easy when the moment is bad, results are negative and pressure is high. They were brave to accept that challenge. Apart from that I felt the first goal was fundamental. When we scored they were in a difficult position because they needed to win, a point wasn’t enough for them. We knew we could conceded a goal and still qualify.'</p>
<p>‘What gives me confidence is the fact that we have been playing okay for the last couple of months, the results haven’t been as good as the work we do every day and the way the players are playing. We could have had different results against Stoke, Tottenham, Bournemouth.'</p>
<p>‘The piece of luck we had with the first goal tonight we’ve never had in the Premier League. It was a great decision by the official on the goal-line and we never get that in the Premier League, despite the fact it’s goal-line technology.'</p>
<p>‘When the game started both teams were under pressure, when we scored the first goal the picture was different. We were more calm, more relaxed, the players could be in control of the game and the situation for Porto was more difficult.’</p>
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<p>Wednesday's result should lift some of the pressure the squad is facing, though there is still little chance that the Blues manage to finish where they'd have liked in the Premier League this season. Mourinho also addressed that competition, and his hopes for the next five months:</p>
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<p>‘The Premier League boss said in an interview it would be good for the league if Chelsea were not champions, but he didn’t say it’s not good for the Premier League if Chelsea finish fourth, so while mathematically it’s still possible let’s fight for every game and every point and see if it’s possible to finish fourth.'</p>
<p>‘A team which is struggling as we are is obviously not a candidate to win the Champions League because you have the best teams in Europe, but when we won it with Porto in 2004 we were not candidates. When we won it with inter in 2010 we were not candidates. When we were candidates with Real Madrid we lost two semi-finals, and we lost two semi-finals with Chelsea as well, so let’s see, you never know.’</p>
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<p>With any luck, we'll start to turn those good performances into wins, and a top four finish will remain mathematically possible for quite a while. Well done on Wednesday, boys.</p>
https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2015/12/10/9882320/mourinho-praises-his-squad-following-champions-league-victoryStephen Schmidt