Chelsea dominate the PFA Team of the Year with six inclusions, but manager Jose Mourinho believes the entire side should be made up of his players.
The Blues are on the brink of wrestling the Premier League crown from Manchester City, having drawn at Arsenal on Sunday to move within five points of a first league title since 2010. This has been reflected in the PFA Team of the Year, which includes defenders Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and John Terry, midfielders Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic, and striker Diego Costa.
Those non-Chelsea players who make up the XI are Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, Southampton’s former Stamford Bridge fullback Ryan Bertrand, midfielder Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool, Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane. However, Mourinho believes all five are fortunate to get the nod over some of his players.
“There should have been more Chelsea players. All of them should have been Chelsea,” said the Portuguese coach. “I respect every player in that team and especially everyone that chose because they have the right to choose. Just one example is Cesc Fabregas, with the season he is having, the number of assists, the quality of his game. For him not to be there is strange.”
Whilst Kane was awarded with the PFA Young Player of the Year award, the senior honour did go to a Chelsea player, after Hazard was unsurprisingly named as the PFA Player of the Year. The Belgian has been in sensational form for much of the campaign, with 13 goals in 33 Premier League matches, and he hopes it ends with the league title being paraded around Stamford Bridge next month.
“I don’t know if I deserve to win but it is good for me,” the forward is quoted on Sky Sports. “It is good, it is better to be voted by the players – they know everything about football. This is good. I’m very happy. We are almost champions, maybe this is the key. Last season we finished third and this season we have an opportunity to win the league. This has changed from last season.
“I continue like I did last season – I try to be the same. I try to score more goals than last season. Personally I have played a good season, I have been there in the big games and I scored a lot of important goals, this is why I’m better this season. I started the season not to be the PFA Player of the Year but I want to be the best and I hope one day I can win a lot of trophies.”
Despite their being six Chelsea players in the PFA Team of the Year, is Jose Mourinho right to suggest there should be even more? And if so, who has been harshly omitted?
