Mourinho adds time-out plea to quibble wish list

Chelsea 2 Leicester City 0

It wasn’t just with the way a combative Leicester City initially rattled his team.

Having previously called his side “lazy” in the first-half of that 2-0 win, the Portuguese came out with another eye-catching comment. He called for managers to be given time-outs, saying it would improve the sport, and might also have improved his team.

“I didn’t enjoy the first-half,” Mourinho said. “Football is very slow to change the rules. How many years have we had to wait for goal-line technology, for the third substitution? I hope I am still in football when they give the coach the chance to stop the game during the first-half once and during the second-half, because you can make the game much better. Imagine today. I would have stopped the game in the 10th minute. It would be interesting. [Louis] van Gaal in the World Cup, the ref stopped the game for the water break, and he changed the system of his team and managed to win the game.”

Chelsea ultimately managed to win this game, though, because Mourinho changed his strike-force. For the second successive fixture, following on from the equaliser against Burnley, new signing Diego Costa hit his side’s key first goal to set them on their way. This was a classic poacher’s finish after 63 minutes, and captain John Terry believes the Spaniard will surprise people with just how good he is. Costa certainly surprised the Chelsea squad, despite appearing against them for Atletico Madrid last season.

“I did not realise how good he was even after playing against him in the Champions League,” Terry said. “You will see that once the full fitness comes. There is still more to come from him. He has caused us some problems in training. He has been unbelievable.

“When they hand the bibs out you want him to be on your side. I am trying to teach him some words in English! He looks ready-made for the Premier League. He can handle himself well. Myself and Gaz [Gary Cahill] gave him some grief at Atletico away but he stood up to us and he fancied it. He has got that to his game but the other side of his game we will all be surprised at how good he is.

“He is quick, powerful and, more importantly, can score goals. It was great for him to get off the mark here and get a great reception from the fans. It is about being in the right place at the right time and the one at Burnley summed it up. It came off the post and there he was.

“He is very good. He has come in pre-season and he has scored goals pre-season.”

Costa scored the ultimate poacher’s goal here, adjusting his body to finish an awkwardly bouncing ball. That opportunity was superbly created by Branislav Ivanovic, who both Mourinho and Terry hailed as “immense”.

The Portuguese feels the Serbian defender is now key to setting a certain standard for Chelsea.

“He is strong going forward, he is strong defensively. I think that right now I expect this from him because he is one of the ones from our important days, from the mental point of view he belongs to that strong base.”

Chelsea strengthened their lead with a brilliant Eden Hazard goal on 80 minutes, in which he slid the ball past the previously defiant Kasper Schmeichel. It finally ended Leicester’s challenge for good, although Nigel Pearson’s side had been hugely impressive in how much they troubled the home side. Terry backed them to stay up, and it was the general feeling.

Chelsea themselves were not as impressive as in the 3-1 win over Burnley, but the captain felt they displayed an admirable “resilience — which we missed last year”.

“The manager has added his players this year and we are really looking the part at the moment” Terry said. “As I said before, I think we have another level to go up to because the World Cup boys are not fully fit and that will take four or five games, like all the teams to get their full fitness. We certainly have more to give and more to come from this time.”

Mourinho would just like extra time mid-game to offer that bit more himself.

CHELSEA: Courtois 8; Ivanovic 9, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 7; Matic 7, Fabregas 7; Schurrle 7 (Ramires 64, 7), Oscar 8 (Willian 70, 7), Hazard 8; Costa 8 (Drogba 80, 6).

LEICESTER CITY: Schmeichel 8; De Laet 7, Morgan 7, Moore 7, Konchesky 6; Mahrez 6 (Albrighton 68, 6), King 6, Hammond 7 (Taylor-Fletcher 73, 6), Schlupp 6; Nugent 6, Ulloa 6 (Wood 84, 6).