Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho praised his under-weather side’s fighting spirit as they held on to claim a 1-1 draw with a rampant Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Blues were forced to camp in their own half for much of their last-16 first leg, as the hosts ramped up the pressure in search of a winning goal after Edinson Cavanicancelled out Branislav Ivanovic's opener.
The Premier League leaders looked out of sorts throughout, with Mourinho revealing a number of their key players were unable to properly train ahead of the tie.
But the Blues once again displayed their trademark resilience to see out the draw, and the boss said after the game he couldn’t have asked more of his players.
"[Eden] Hazard, Willian, Oscar, [Cesc] Fabregas, Ivanovic, they didn't train," Mourinho said.
"They did some individual training just to try to keep rolling and moving. Yesterday they trained because you [the media] were there.
"Fabregas had three days in bed, came to play without training. Injured guys [played] without training. They gave everything."
Mourinho also lauded Ivanovic's obvious knack of scoring key goals, having netted the decisive goal in the 2013 Europa League final and against Liverpool last month as Chelsea advanced to next month's Capital One Cup final
"Iva has more this feeling in big occasions," Mourinho added.
"It looks like he chooses the moment."
Despite a harried performance, Chelsea can afford to feel optimistic about their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals thanks to the defender’s vital away goal.
PSG showed enough attacking threat for Chelsea to be wary in the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 11, but the Blues are better placed this time than the sides’ meeting last season, when they needed Demba Ba's last-gasp strike to advance to the semi-finals on away goals.
Nevertheless, Mourinho played down Chelsea's favourites' tag.
"The advantage is minimal," said the Portuguese coach.
"Obviously a two-leg game is now one leg. Now everything is decided at Stamford Bridge, not in two matches where they have a fantastic record [at home].
"It's not a victory, 3-0 or 4-0 that ends the story. They are a fantastic team, fantastic players. We did okay"
The Blues were forced to camp in their own half for much of their last-16 first leg, as the hosts ramped up the pressure in search of a winning goal after Edinson Cavanicancelled out Branislav Ivanovic's opener.
The Premier League leaders looked out of sorts throughout, with Mourinho revealing a number of their key players were unable to properly train ahead of the tie.
But the Blues once again displayed their trademark resilience to see out the draw, and the boss said after the game he couldn’t have asked more of his players.
"[Eden] Hazard, Willian, Oscar, [Cesc] Fabregas, Ivanovic, they didn't train," Mourinho said.
"They did some individual training just to try to keep rolling and moving. Yesterday they trained because you [the media] were there.
"Fabregas had three days in bed, came to play without training. Injured guys [played] without training. They gave everything."
Mourinho also lauded Ivanovic's obvious knack of scoring key goals, having netted the decisive goal in the 2013 Europa League final and against Liverpool last month as Chelsea advanced to next month's Capital One Cup final
"Iva has more this feeling in big occasions," Mourinho added.
"It looks like he chooses the moment."
Despite a harried performance, Chelsea can afford to feel optimistic about their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals thanks to the defender’s vital away goal.
PSG showed enough attacking threat for Chelsea to be wary in the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 11, but the Blues are better placed this time than the sides’ meeting last season, when they needed Demba Ba's last-gasp strike to advance to the semi-finals on away goals.
Nevertheless, Mourinho played down Chelsea's favourites' tag.
"The advantage is minimal," said the Portuguese coach.
"Obviously a two-leg game is now one leg. Now everything is decided at Stamford Bridge, not in two matches where they have a fantastic record [at home].
"It's not a victory, 3-0 or 4-0 that ends the story. They are a fantastic team, fantastic players. We did okay"
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