Jose
Mourinho played down the emotion of Frank Lampard scoring against Chelsea
after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester City.
Chelsea looked set to make it five wins out of five when City right-back
Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for a second bookable offence midway through the
second half and Andre Schurrle fired in an opening goal five minutes later.
However, substitute Lampard, who was given a great reception by both sets of
fans as he entered the pitch, equalised with just five minutes remaining.
He did not celebrate and acknowledged the Chelsea supporters again at the
end of the match, having spent 13 years at Stamford Bridge before leaving
for New York City in the summer and then being loaned to Man City.
Asked what he made of the fact that it was Lampard who scored City’s goal,
Mourinho told Sky Sports: “I don’t make (anything).
“He is a Man City player. Maybe I am too pragmatic in football but he
decided to come to a competitor of Chelsea and love stories are obviously
over.
“He did his job as the super-professional he is and he scored.
Questioned on the warm reception Lampard received, Mourinho added: “This is
England, and this is Chelsea. Chelsea people can never forget what people
have done at this club.
“It happened with me when I met Chelsea with Inter, and it happened with
Lamps.”
Lampard’s goal came after Schurrle had lost his marker and James Milner
crossed for him to score, but Mourinho refused to be too critical of his
player.
The German had come on for the more-defensive-minded Ramires and Mourinho
defended his decision to push for victory.
He explained: “I know the difference between Ramires and Schurrle. Schurrle
scored a goal that Ramires would probably never have scored, coming in at
the far post. But Ramires would never concede that goal with Milner going in
behind.
“But this is football and we tried to win. “
Mourinho had no complaints with the final outcome and was happy that Chelsea
were able to strengthen their position at the top of the table.
He said: “It was a big game. I think maybe in the end 1-1 was a fair result.
“We went 1-0 up after they had a player sent off and Diego (Costa) hit the
post, but then they had a reaction.
“Even playing with one player less, they had a reaction and equalised.
“The conclusion we made in the dressing room is that we came here as leaders
with two points more than the second-placed team.
“We played in the champions’ house, and we leave with three points more than
second, so it is a good weekend for us.”
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