Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho paid credit to Arsenal’s defensive organisation after the Gunners’ 1-0 victory in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netted the winner with a powerful left-footed drive into the top corner midway through the first half.
Mourinho threw on summer loan signing Radamel Falcao after the break but Chelsea struggled to break through former Blues stopper Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
And the Portuguese conceded the Gunners were very impressive at the back, but he still thought his team deserved to win.
“I thought the best team lost,” he said.
“The team with more initiative, the one that wanted to play and create lost, but that’s football.
“The team that defends very well, with ten players behind the ball, nine players in front of the box win, and I always think the team that defends very well deserves credit for that.
“At half-time, I told my players the best team is losing, we changed a few details from a tactical point of view, we brought Falcao on as a target man and later Oscar, and we tried everything but we were not efficient with the chances we had and defensively they were very good.
“With other clubs and other managers you say boring, park the bus, very defensive but I don’t agree with that. They were very well organised, very well defensive-minded and because of that top credit to them.”
The result clinched Arsene Wenger's first ever victory over Mourinho after a run of 13 games without a win, and the hostility between the managers appeared to continue as they failed to shake hands after the final whistle, something the Portuguese denied.
He added: “It’s not true, you have to look at it. You saw me wait for them and shake the hands of every one that left the stairs just in front of my direction.”
No comments:
Post a Comment