English Premier League : I’d rather be in City’s shoes, says Mourinho

Chelsea manager wary of side’s destiny despite victory over Spurs.

LONDON: Jose Mourinho insisted he would prefer to be in Manchester City’s position in the Premier League title race despite his Chelsea side moving seven points clear.

Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Tottenham took Mourinho’s team to 66 points, while Liverpool and Arsenal lie second with 59 points having played a game fewer.

City are two points further adrift but have three games in hand on Chelsea and have a superior goal difference, prompting Mourinho to claim that the advantage in the battle to become champions lies with Manuel Pellegrini’s team.

“I would like to be in their position,” said Mourinho. “If they win the matches, they’re top of the league.

“If City win the 12 matches they have, they’re champions. They have the destiny in their own hands. I would prefer to have destiny in my own hands. It doesn’t depend on us. It depends on them.”

Top four is for us to lose: Mourinho

The Chelsea manager agreed that his side had all but achieved their initial objective of guaranteeing a top-four place after moving 13 points clear of Tottenham in fifth place.

The manager added: “The top four is for us to lose. We are 13 points from Tottenham, and 15 from Manchester United and Everton.

“This game could have reduced the gap to fifth to seven points, but at this moment it is 13 points and I really don’t believe we’ll lose that distance.

“So objective number one, top four, is in our hands. Now let’s go for objective number two, top three with direct Champions League qualification.”

Samuel Eto’o put Chelsea on their way with the 56th minute opening goal which he followed with a celebration that poked fun at off the record comments made by Mourinho about the striker’s age.

The striker imitated an elderly person leaning on the corner flag and Mourinho said: “I didn’t suggest [the celebration] but we knew it [was coming]. We knew it. We thought it was more than fine.

“The best way to diffuse the situation is to make fun of a funny situation, so it was good.”

Younes Kaboul’s foul on Eto’o earned the Tottenham defender a red card and allowed Eden Hazard to add a 59th minute second from the penalty spot. And substitute Demba Ba capitalised on two late defensive mistakes to score twice in the final two minutes of normal time.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2014.

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