Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the Premier League
title race is still wide open despite Manchester City's loss to Liverpool on
Sunday.
The defeat means Manuel Pellegrini's side are now five
points behind Chelsea, who have also played a game less after taking the
weekend off league action to beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Capital One Cup final.
Chelsea are now firm favourites to add the Premier League
title to their trophy haul this season but Mourinho insists City, and even
Manchester United, remain in contention.
"It's in the hands of everyone," Mourinho said.
"We have lots of difficult matches to play. City have difficult matches.
Chelsea win Capital One Cup
"United are third [currently fourth, after Arsenal's
win over Everton], right? Nine [10] points [behind]? They are in the title race
too. Liverpool [beating Manchester City], I predicted that."
Mourinho banned television from the hotel and team bus
before the final at Wembley to prevent his players from being distracted by
City's result against Liverpool.
"I knew that was an impossible mission, but I didn't
want the television on in the hotel or on the bus," Mourinho explained.
"I told them [the players] I didn't want any kind of
manifestation or disappointment if City scored in the last minute, or Liverpool
won. I wanted complete silence.
"We were successful on that. But one member of my staff
jumped up in the bus. Silvino [Louro, an assistant first-team coach]. I wanted
to kill the guy. He broke the rule."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was delighted to beat
Tottenham 2-0 in the League Cup final.
Chelsea claimed the first major trophy of the season at
Wembley thanks to John Terry's first-half strike and Kyle Walker's own goal
early in the second period.
The victory was Mourinho's 10th in 12 major finals and his
21st trophy in 15 years of management.
"It's difficult for me to live without titles,"
Mourinho said. "I need to feed myself with titles. This is important for
me and the boys.
"For the club it's one more cup, but it's the first one
of a new team. You have Petr Cech, John Terry, Didier Drogba and, after that,
everybody belongs to a new generation of players. So, as a team, very, very
important."
It was also important for Mourinho, who was trophyless in
his first season back at Chelsea following a disappointing final campaign at
previous club Real Madrid, having enjoyed success throughout his career prior
to that.
Porto: Primeira Liga (2003, '04), Portuguese Cup (2003),
UEFA Cup (2003), Champions League (2004), Portuguese Super Cup (2003)
Chelsea: Premier League (2005, '06), FA Cup (2007), League
Cup (2005, '07, '15), Community Shield (2005)
Inter Milan: Serie A (2009, 2010), Italian Cup (2010),
Champions League (2010), Italian Super Cup (2008)
Real Madrid: Primera Division (2012), Copa del Rey (2011),
Spanish Super Cup (2012)
He added: "I started in 2000. I won the UEFA Cup in
2003, the Champions League in 2004. I didn't have time to process that.
"I went in a different direction, with two seasons
without a trophy, and it looked like I was 20 years without a trophy.
"This is a good problem, to have that feeling that two
years is a long time. That's a good feeling.
"For me, it's important to feel that I'm a kid. Before
the game, that I had the same feelings as my first final however many years
ago.
"It's important to feel the same happiness after the
victory, and to feel like a kid at 52 years old."
Mourinho celebrated by calling his wife, Matilde, from the
tunnel.
He added: "I had my son and my daughter here, but my
wife was at home and didn't know the result until I called."
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