Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho Slams PSG Ahead of Champions League Clash

Speaking ahead of the match, Mourinho accused PSG of playing aggressive football, noting that they were the most aggressive team Chelsea have played against this season.

“This season we have played teams from the Championship, League One and League Two, but the most aggressive team was PSG. For a team with so much quality I expect more football,” Mourinho said.

“A team with fantastic players was the team making foul after foul. PSG were the team that stopped Eden Hazard with fouls all the time and the team that was attacking the man in possession of the ball with two or three players very aggressively,” he said.

Namanja Matic returns from a ban but fellow midfielder John Mikel Obi is out with a knee injury for the Champions League last 16 second leg on Wednesday at 10:45 EAT.

AWAY GOAL ADVANTAGE

Chelsea beat PSG in last season’s quarter-finals after they overturned a 3-1 deficit to win the home leg 2-0 and advance on away goals.

The first leg of the match played in Paris ended 1-1 and Chelsea will be approaching the match with an away goal advantage.

Ahead of the clash, PSG coach Laurent Blanc has said that it will be difficult for Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma to contain Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the two sides meet on Wednesday night.

“I don’t think those two players are going to be happy about facing Zlatan,” he said.

“He’s someone who loves the big occasion. He’s a player who can score at any time, in any venue, against any opponent. I hope he shows that on Wednesday night.”

Blanc also warned his players against confronting Chelsea striker Diego Costa, whom he says thrives on provocation.

“He likes contact and provokes opposition players. That’s part of his game,” he said.

PSG players will wear black armbands for the game after eight French nationals including three sportsmen and women died in a helicopter clash in Argentina on Monday.

The other Champions League match played Tuesday night saw Real Madrid lose 4-3 to Schalke at Bernabeu in Madrid though Real qualified on 5-4 aggregate having won the first away leg 2-0.

Source: BBC