Mourinho unhappy with defence in 6-3 win over Everton
EVERTON 3
(Kevin Mirallas 45, Steven Naismith 69, Samuel Eto'o 76)
CHELSEA 6
(Diego Costa 1, 90, Branislav Ivanovic 3, Seamus Coleman 67-og, Nemanja Matic 74, Ramires 77)
When asked to comment on Arsenal's 5-4 victory over Tottenham in 2004, Jose Mourinho scoffed.
"That is not a football score," he sneered. "That's a hockey score."
Ten years later, he has a hockey score of his own.
Chelsea beat Everton 6-3 at Goodison Park yesterday morning (Singapore time), but any joy the Chelsea manager takes from the result will be tainted by the scoreline.
He is not a man who approves of such things.
"We spent hours on defence in training," he said. "You can imagine how happy I am now."
Everton's Roberto Martinez was similarly affected by the scoreline. While he has rather more of a reputation for the sort of football that can make these numbers inevitable, the manner of the goals dismayed him.
The hosts were one down inside 35 seconds, and two down in three minutes. Diego Costa smashed home his third goal in three games from close range after a pass from Cesc Fabregas caught the Everton defence entirely unawares.
Branislav Ivanovic, enjoying a wonderful start to the season, was marginally offside for the second, but not to a degree that it would be worth complaining about the officiating.
Those complaints would be best served for what followed next.
As Eden Hazard raced onto another glorious ball, Tim Howard sprang out of the penalty area and caught it before quickly falling back down inside his box.
It was quite the most obvious red-card offence you could hope to see, which made it rather unfortunate that referee Jon Moss failed to see it.
Everton were shaken, but kept their heads and tried to play their way back into the game.
Martinez has drilled these players well and taught them to trust their abilities, hoping to release their talent rather than harness it as David Moyes did.
A reward came just before half-time when Seamus Coleman's cross was headed home by Kevin Mirallas.
NOT FUNNY
Martinez and Mourinho appeared to share a joke on the touchline in the second half, but neither of them was amused by the running battle between Coleman and Costa.
The Everton man appeared to be getting under Costa's skin, poking him and prodding him with obvious effect.
Costa's complaints were ignored and the home crowd revelled in his discomfort.
Then Hazard burst down the left, fired in a cross and it pinged off Coleman and into the net.
Costa immediately sprinted over to the Irishman and taunted him.
An unwise decision. Howard, not a man you would wish to cross, grabbed him by the lapels and bellowed at him, earning a yellow card for his troubles.
Mourinho would later accuse Everton of trying to get his players sent off. Martinez did not agree.
Again, Everton refused to yield. Steven Naismith hit his third in three games to make it 3-2.
Again, Chelsea quickly grabbed back their cushion, this time through Nemanja Matic. 4-2.
Everton took a breath and scored again, debutant Samuel Eto'o heading home against his former employers. 4-3.
Sixty seconds later, Ramires scored. 5-3.
On the sidelines, Mourinho danced in celebration while frowning in consternation, torn by the ridiculousness of the game.
Everton tried to riposte, but were undone when Mohamed Besic, making his debut for the club, over-elaborated and succeeded in backheeling the ball straight into the path of Costa. 6-3. Game, set and match, Mr Mourinho.
For all of his complaints, Mourinho will recognise the importance of this result.
Not only is it a emphatic victory away at a top-six side, something Arsenal couldn't do, but it's also a third win in three for the Blues.
Elsewhere, Manchester United lurch from one abject display to another, Liverpool were floored by Manchester City.
City themselves were stunned by Stoke. And through it all, Chelsea continue to cruise, not quite serenely this time, to the top of the table.
Mourinho has much to please him. Just not the defending.
Mourinho lauds Costa, lambasts fragile backline
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho hailed Diego Costa as the complete striker after his side's 6-3 Premier League win over Everton, but is concerned opponents will try to get the Spain international sent off.
The Brazil-born Costa scored twice in a thrilling match at Goodison Park to take his tally to four goals in three games, and maintained Chelsea's winning start to the season.
Mourinho bought Costa for £32 million ($66m) from Atletico Madrid during the close season to add more firepower to a Chelsea side that managed 71 goals last season.
That figure was way behind champions Manchester City (102) and runners-up Liverpool (101) last term, but Mourinho expects more with a lethal finisher in his side.
"It was the complete performance of a striker," Mourinho said. "The perfect performance in every aspect.
"In the first half, he was tackling, he recovers balls, he holds the ball, and his movement was quality. Everything was really good.
"Diego had three chances and he scored two goals. He is a good finisher and he gives us a lot. In the end, we are killers in attack."
Mourinho was, however, disappointed with the manner in which Everton's players attempted to provoke Costa during the game, which earned him a booking.
"I was not happy with the way some Everton players tried to create problems with Diego," added Mourinho.
"I don't think it is in keeping with the Everton team, because they are positive in every aspect, to be chasing cards for a player who was here to play football.
"At the end of the story, Diego is maybe be the best player in the opening Premier League matches. But he has two yellow cards. That is disappointing."
Everton manager Roberto Martinez responded to Mourinho's criticism, adamant that Costa must learn to adjust to the different sporting ethos of the Premier League.
"I am disappointed if a manager is complaining about the attitude of the players," Martinez added.
"I think certain foreign players, when they come to the Premier League, need to understand the ethics and the culture.
DIFFERENT CULTURE
"That's something he (Costa) will learn about. There is a professionalism in this league which he needs to understand."
Mourinho also criticised his side's defensive frailties after they allowed Everton to reduce the deficit on three occasions before they found the extra bit of quality required.
He added: "In training during the week, we worked on defensive corners and free-kicks, so imagine how happy I am with the result of our work.
"I may as well have stayed at home with my wife and kids. It's possible to have lots of goals, but we make defensive mistakes."
Not surprisingly, Martinez was also unhappy with Everton's defensive display, although he felt it was a mind-set issue.
"It's not the technicality, it's the feeling," added Martinez. "I wouldn't be too worried about it because of the opposition...
"But we need to be a bit more positive at what we are good at defensively." - AFP.
"In the first half, he was tackling, he recovers balls, he holds the ball, and his movement was quality. Everything was really good."
- Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho on Diego Costa
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