Chelsea

There’s an old saying which recommends that if you’re putting a house up, it’s wise to build the back door first. Perhaps it’s the same in Portugal, because Jose Mourinho seemed very keen to play down the significance of Chelsea’s Champions League showdown with rivals Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, claiming that it was of little consequence while at the same time taking the opportunity to field a very strong team.

The thing you have to remember with Jose is that there always seems to be a difference between appearance and reality. It was the same during the game. When Benitez justifiably protested at Essien’s horror tackle on Dietmar Hamann, which went totally unpunished, Mourinho accused him of “crying all the time”. Later Jose complained bitterly that referees victimise him while other managers get away with it. But that’s not crying.

Jose is very good at deflecting attention from reality. In his eagerness to reflect on the perceived injustice of his treatment by officials, he conveniently neglected to condemn a challenge that was capable of terminating an opponent’s career. After the match, he complained that teams “defend with everybody behind the ball” and “don’t give you many chances to create”. How ironic that he should criticise opponents for defending in a way that his team has almost patented. How odd that he should imply that it’s the opponents’ fault that Chelsea didn’t have sufficient opportunities to create – this from a man who claims that he chooses not to allow the word ‘entertainment’ a place in his football vocabulary.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. After a draw which ensured that Liverpool finish top of Champions League Group G, Jose was quoted as saying: “I wouldn’t say I’m happy to finish second, but it is the same to finish second or first.”

The same to finish second or first?

Now we know what they pay him all that money for.