Mourinho and Chelsea warming to their task

SOUTHAMPTON 0 CHELSEA 3: These may be the sort of afternoons Jose Mourinho professed to miss so much during his absence from the Premier League. As the wind and rain swept in off the south coast, the Chelsea manager stood tall amid the storm and masterminded his side to a fourth league victory in five.

It was not without controversy, though, and the result did not reflect the bigger picture. Southampton enjoyed spells of dominance but were undone by a decisive double substitution from Mourinho shortly after half-time.

The sides were evenly matched in a compelling opening 45 minutes. Then Oscar and Willian were introduced on 53 minutes. Both scored after Fernando Torres had broken the deadlock but it was Oscar’s booking for a blatant dive when knocking the ball past Kelvin Davis that caused the greatest furore.

The Brazilian allowed his leg to drift into Davis's body as he tumbled to the turf with the score at 0-0 and, while Mourinho denied that Oscar was a devious player, he agreed it was a certain yellow card.

Clean player
"Oscar is a clean player . . he was waiting for the goalkeeper to come and smash him because that normally happens in these situations. But the goalkeeper was not coming, or he was coming and then he stopped. I think it is a fair yellow card for a clean player. We know that he is clean," said Mourinho.

“His explanation to me I accept. Oscar found himself in a moment of contradiction, speaking about fractions of seconds, where he thinks contact, penalty, red card.”

Oscar’s introduction may have spurred Chelsea to life but it came at the expense of Juan Mata, who was withdrawn. Yet while Andre Schurrle, taken off at the same time for Willian, sprinted quickly to the bench, Mata ambled to the touchline and appeared despondent, hitting a seat in the dugout.

The Spaniard, who has fallen down the pecking order this season, has been linked with a January transfer and Mourinho hinted a move was not beyond the bounds of possibility.

“Juan’s reaction I didn’t see. I think his frustration was because of the result, because we know we have to win. At the end of the game everybody including him was happy in the dressing room and everybody was celebrating the victory,” Mourinho said.

“I want to keep him, I don’t want him to go. That’s my wish but my door is open and the club’s door is open too. When a player wants to speak with us we are there waiting . . .”

Despite the atrocious conditions both sides were accomplished on the ball. Chelsea dominated in the opening 20 minutes, Torres darting inside off the left flank to beat two men before firing over. Yet Southampton’s cohesive attack soon clicked into gear.

Having been on the pitch for only three minutes, Oscar was slipped through one on one by Eden Hazard and knocked the ball past Davis before tumbling to the ground. The Brazilian did, however, play an integral part in Torres’s goal soon after.

The substitute received the ball on the left and struck a deflected cross that looped over Davis and on to the foot of his left-hand post, rebounding back to Torres who finished smartly with his head.

Cutting inside
It was 2-0 11 minutes later, with Oscar cutting inside and feeding Willian on the edge of the box who shot low into the bottom corner. Oscar put the seal on an emphatic second half in the closing stages by firing low past Davis following a looping pass from Hazard.

Mauricio Pochettino said: "In the first hour we were playing quite well. We were quite unlucky with the first goal. When Chelsea brought on Willian and Oscar that completely changed the match."
Guardian Service