Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said the impact substitutes Oscar and Willian made in the 3-0 victory over Southampton justified his decision to take off Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle just eight minutes into the second half.
Mata was clearly unhappy after being withdrawn, but Oscar then created the first goal for Fernando Torres before the two Brazilians each got on the scoresheet.
Mourinho said: “I think his [Mata’s] frustration was because of the result, because we knew we had to win.
“If we don’t win this game the difference to the leaders is bigger. When he came off the team was losing two points, so I think his frustration was about that.
“At the end of the game everybody, including him, was happy in the dressing room and everybody was celebrating the victory.
“I think Willian and Oscar gave us a different intensity and speed and after that the game was open and quite easy for us.”
And the Portuguese revealed that he had been tempted to make changes at the interval.
He explained: “I waited, because I was thinking about doing that at half-time.
“I was waiting to see if there was a reaction from my team talk. But I thought that was the best period for Southampton. We were losing control and I just had to make the changes.
“I felt sorry for the players I changed, but I am not here to be nice to the players, I think of the team.”
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This post was last modified on 02/01/2014
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Good for the winning against sou
Eeeeeh! The "Happy One" should continue with his plan to maintain the successful runs of the CLUB. He is a true leader that want the best out of any players. If a player is not in the part at any game make a substitute and move on.
But Jose Mourinho should please keep a watch on RAMIRES as he is not consistent in the matches this day. He should not be given a special treatment as he needs to be more direct and play with others as a team