Mourinho plays down touchline melee after ‘awful’ Chelsea draw
Jose Mourinho played down an ugly touchline melee after watching his Manchester United side concede a heartbreaking late equaliser as Chelsea preserved their unbeaten Premier League record on Saturday.
Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London on October 20, 2018. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
Ross Barkley scored in the sixth minute of injury time to level the match at 2-2 after Anthony Martial had scored twice in the second half to cancel out Antonio Rudiger’s opener.
Mourinho took exception to the celebrations of one of Chelsea’s backroom staff, Marco Ianni, who ran in front of the Portuguese on the touchline, as he seemed set for a sweet victory over his old club.
When asked about the incident, former Chelsea boss Mourinho said: “Oh come on, I can tell you that 97 minutes of the game was so good that you have to focus on that.
“I did not get respect back from Chelsea (fans) but that is not my responsibility. What I did here today I will do in Madrid, in Milan, in Porto, the reaction from the fans is not up to me.
“I am not annoyed with anything. What happened with (Maurizio) Sarri’s assistant, Sarri was the first one to come to me and say he will resolve it.
“The assistant has already come to me and apologised, I told him to forget it. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career.”
Mourinho, who won three Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea, said United were the better side.
“We were the best team on the pitch. If you say before the game that one point at Stamford Bridge is a good result, it is so difficult to win here but after the game with the way the game was it is an awful result for us and a phenomenal result for them.”
“I hope every referee does the same as Mike Dean and gives six minutes,” he added. “I don’t know where they came from. We always tried to play, there was no time-wasting.”
The result put Chelsea top of the table before the later Saturday games but left United well off the pace.
Sarri said his side lost out to United in the physical battle as the game wore on.
“I am disappointed with the last 30 minutes,” he told the BBC. “We could win but at the end one point is enough.
“We were not organised for the long ball, we usually play with short passes so we were not organised for this in the last half hour. This is not our football. I prefer to play our football for 90 minutes.
“I didn’t see what happened but I have spoken to Jose Mourinho. I understood that we were in the wrong side of the situation. I have spoken to a member of my staff and have dealt with this immediately.”
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