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CHELSEA FC: Reaction: Mourinho - "Crespo is on fire."

/noticias.info/ José Mourinho was as subdued as the match he had just witnessed in the press conferences, cool in the knowledge that his players had convincingly earned another three points without ever having to perform at their best.

The standout performer was perhaps Joe Cole, whose all-round skills bedazzled Pompey and rightly earned the penalty that sealed victory. On a day when the crowd had shown its appreciation of a talented midfield maestro with a minute’s silence that developed into a round of sincere applause, the Chelsea boss was asked — in dubious taste — whether Cole was “your George Best”.

José was dignified in his response. “Let Joe do his work. He’s one of the best wingers in the country, that’s no doubt,” he said. “They couldn’t stop him because he was too powerful. He got one penalty and might have had another.”

Cole’s influence brought attention from the Fratton Park crowd as well as poor challenges from the home defenders. José revealed that the middleman was taken off late to avoid him “reacting” and receiving a yellow card that would mean suspension.

The goalscorers were also praised. Frank Lampard converted the spot-kick Cole won to cap his record-breaking 160th consecutive appearance.

“The record is unbelievable,” reiterated his manager, “and I hope he can go on and on and on. I think only he can beat it. He kept the game under control. He didn’t run around too much. We played with control.”

Control was what enabled Hernan Crespo to redirect Paulo Ferreira’s whipped shot (heading just wide) for the early opener. He was later withdrawn with a back injury. “Muscle, ribs, we don’t know yet,” said Mourinho. “We hope he can recover because he is on fire: three goals in three games. Maybe some think [his] was a lucky goal but not for me. He feels the ball, he smells it.”

Caretaker manager Joe Jordan had for the second season running spoken up for his side losing 0-2. He chose to praise the Argentinean after citing Petr Cech, who saved superbly from LuaLua with the score 0-0, as a major contributor.

“That was a terrific save and a great effort,” said the Pompey boss. “It was vital for us to keep a clean sheet and LuaLua was denied by great save.

“I’ve got to give credit to Crespo. He’s got terrific movement. They get the chance and they take it. The goal came from a great piece of finishing. He’s a player who scores goals. He gets the chance and he takes it.”

by Rick Glanvill notas_de_prensa_archivo