Benfica coach Mourinho is about to return to Stamford Bridge in the mid-Champions League next week. In an interview, he talked about the difficulties of Chelsea over the past few years that made him feel sad.
"Chelsea, Abraham's Chelsea, my Chelsea, we have built and continued for many years together, Chelsea is a winning club. During my coaching period and afterwards, the leadership of Ancelotti, Conte and Tuchel, Chelsea won everything, it was a victory machine, winning every season. But then the club changed tremendously, accompanied by crazy investment, the loss of several years of loss, too many players, too much money was squandered, redundant staff piled up, the team lacked clear guidance, for loving this company For the club, this period must be difficult."
However, Mourinho also praised Maresca for bringing Chelsea back on track: "Maresca's arrival has gradually improved the new team, and winning the UEFA United is also an amazing achievement, bringing the first trophy to the new team and cultivating the philosophy and culture of club victory. If you cannot win the Premier League, you must at least win other honors, so they won the UEFA United. Then they went to the United States to celebrate the Club World Cup, and when they came back, they were already wearing it on their chests. A big medal, now they have a very good team. "
Speaking of Chelsea general Palmer will miss the game against Benfica, Mourinho said: "This is good news for us, he is a very good player, but I think even if Palmer doesn't play, it's not a problem for Chelsea. And for us, if Sudakov or Pavlitis can't play, the team will be in big trouble."
Speaking of returning to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2020 Mourinho said: "My son is still in London, I will go see him. If possible, I hope to bring back the points we lost against Karabach. I know Chelsea is a top team with great players, excellent coaches, brilliant history, and world champions. They also lost the first round of the Champions League, so of course they need this three-pointer. If the Blues fans can receive me enthusiastically, that's good, and if it's not good, it doesn't matter, I'm glad to be back there."