With a face as long as a baguette, Jose Mourinho did not look like a man on the brink of one of the greatest acts of escapology in the history of the Champions League.
He talked of his faith in his team, of course, and their ability to salvage the tie after last week’s defensive farce in the French capital, but declined the invitations to elaborate.
‘Grumpy? I’m not grumpy,’ insisted Mourinho, before squeezing his thumb towards his index finger and confessing with a wry smile: ‘Just a little.’
Saturday’s win against Stoke has not chased away the dark cloud which has pursued him since two defeats in five days at Crystal Palace and Paris Saint-Germain.
He quickly wrote off the Barclays Premier League title after losing at Selhurst Park and he knows it will take a vintage Chelsea display if his players are to overturn a 3-1 deficit against PSG to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Perhaps he suspects it is beyond them, having criticised their efforts in the Parc de Princes, where he branded the defending ‘a joke’ and blamed his lack of attacking options for being forced to play winger Andre Schurrle at centre forward.
Johan Cruyff took issue with this from Holland on Monday. ‘It’s the same old story,’ said Cruyff, from his stance on the Barcelona side of the Spanish divide. ‘When things go well it’s down to him and if they don’t it’s down to the players.
‘I saw how he lost the dressing room at Real Madrid and it is possible the same thing is going to happen at Chelsea. To ask for a £58million striker, as if it were perfectly normal, is an attitude I have trouble understanding
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| Mourinho takes charge of Chelsea's training session on Monday |
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