
Jose
Mourinho says Chelsea have the Premier League title wrapped up and can
afford to pay more attention to their FA Cup quarter-final than Manchester
United.
United had to come from behind to earn a 2-1 win over Sky Bet Championship
strugglers Blackburn in their fifth-round clash on Sunday, with goals from
Marcus Rashford and substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic cancelling out Danny
Graham's opener.
The quarter-final draw pitched Mourinho's men against his former club - a
first cup meeting between the teams since the same stage four years ago -
and the Portuguese will return to Stamford Bridge for the second time this
season, with United having lost 4-0 in the league back in October.
Chelsea edged the last cup meeting, winning 1-0 in a home replay after
drawing at Old Trafford, and Mourinho suggested their eight-point lead in
the league meant they could begin planning for a repeat performance now.
United, on the other hand, continue to balance a Europa League campaign, an
EFL Cup final against Southampton next Sunday, live on Sky Sports, and their
battle for the top four.
Mourinho initially offered "no reaction" to the draw but could not resist an
early start to the mind games.
"Probably Chelsea can only think about that (the FA Cup) because I think
they are champions and they have nothing else to fight for," Mourinho said.
"The FA Cup is something I believe is important for them. I have to play
St-Etienne (on Wednesday), I have to play the (League Cup) final, I have to
play hopefully another opponent in the Europa League. I have to fight for a
top four position in the Premier League. I have so many things to think
about."
"The match is in one month's time. I don't want to be speaking about it."
That United do not have a replay to add to their schedule is partly down to
Mourinho's decision, shortly after an hour's play, to send on Paul Pogba and
Ibrahimovic.
The pair had been slated for a rest but when called upon combined for the
decisive goal of the game - Ibrahimovic's 24th in a United shirt.
"The connection between quality players any time is a help," said Mourinho.
"I knew that (Ibrahimovic) would be a very important player for us. One goal
more or one goal less, I knew the contribution would be massive."
For Blackburn boss Owen Coyle, the game was a chance to forget about his
side's relegation battle.
A strong performance with a depleted team suggested they should have enough
to escape the drop and their manager was proud of what he saw.
"We gave a very good account of ourselves but nobody likes losing games," he
said. "We did enough to get another shot at it. We now have to show that
display week in, week out in the Championship.
"We know we have good footballers here, nobody could say they are
short-changed by us when it comes to entertainment.
"We showed great spirit and courage to try and get an equaliser at the end
and we will need those qualities for the rest of the season."