Chelsea may in a good position to launch an assault on four trophies this season, but Jose Mourinho insists his side are not yet the finished article.
Although Robin van Persie scored a late equaliser to deny the Blues maximum points at Manchester United last Sunday, they enter the weekend with a four-point cushion at the head of the Premier League. Perhaps more significantly, they are six-points clear of champions Manchester City, and nine points ahead of Liverpool who pipped them to second place last term.
Further to this, they look almost certain to qualify for the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League, most likely as Group G winners, whilst a 2-1 win at Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday has earned them a quarter-final berth in the League Cup. So whilst there is much for Mourinho and the Stamford Bridge faithful to be happy about, the Portuguese coach believes there is more to come from his side.
“In terms of objectives, the pragmatic ones, the results, we are where we want to be,” Mourinho said. “First in the Champions League, first in the league, quarter-final of the League Cup. In terms of numbers we are there but in terms of performance and the quality of the team – no team is perfect. We are not perfect, but I’m happy with what we are doing and where we are.
“It’s not difficult for me to see where we need to improve. This team is giving me more work to bring them to the level of my previous Chelsea team. Almost all of that team were end products; top players. End products are one thing and players with great talent are another. That’s why I came here. I knew exactly what I was going to have when I came here last year.”
The Blues will certainly be expected to collect an eight league win of the season on Saturday afternoon, when struggling Queens Park Rangers travel across the capital. And the home side will be boosted by the return of Diego Costa, who has scored an impressive nine goals in seven appearances this term, as the striker has recovered from a hamstring problem and viral infection.
As every bit as impressive as the Spain international this season has been Thibaut Courtois, who has dislodged club legend Petr Cech from the number one position. Whilst on loan in La Liga last season the Belgian helped Atletico Madrid win the title and reach the Champions League final where they lost to rivals Real, and he is now hoping to go one better with his parent club.
“We have the team to win the Champions League. So hopefully we could win both, but we will see,” the 22-year-old told the BBC’s Football Focus. “We have the quality to reach the Champions League and to win it but there’s other strong teams – Bayern, Barcelona, Madrid – so you need a little bit of luck not to play against them before the final. The Premier League would be really nice to win. I’d rather have both, but if I had to choose, maybe the Premier League now and another year the Champions League.”
