Jose Mourinho says that his Inter Milan side deserved to go through to the quarter finals of the Champions League after out classing Chelsea in ever way.

A goal from Samuel Eto’o was enough to make sure that the first leg lead was not over turned by Chelsea who will be greatly disappointed by their own performance on the night.

Chelsea will say that they were not helped out by the referee who could have given the London club a penalty on two separate occasions. However, they did not do enough in the game to make this irrelevant.

He said: ““I’m very happy because we won and because we were the best team. Sometimes in football you win because you’re lucky. Sometimes you win because you are the best team. Sometimes you win because you were the best team from the first to last minute. That team was my team, and my players.”

“I’m very happy because my players are happy, my supporters are happy, my president is happy and because I worked so much for this game. As a professional, that’s the best feeling you can have. I’m not happy because my ex-players or Roman [Abramovich, the owner] lost, or that Chelsea supporters go home sad.”

“Yesterday I exchanged a few texts with John Terry and I told him that one of us would be sad today. That’s life. My people will always be my people, but today I was the enemy. And the enemy won. That’s life.”

Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti, added: “I think that Inter played a very good game. They put strong pressure on our midfielders and we were not able to play how we wanted. I think that Inter deserved to win this game. This is the reality. We have to stay focused now on the other competitions, but I think that we could have played better than this.”

The European exit may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the London club because they are now free to focus on the Premier League. With one of most contested league run ins of recent years this is very important.

England officials will also be smiling because Chelsea have some of the most important English players. They will now play five games less, which will mean they are slightly fresher when it comes to the World Cup this summer.

However, everyone connected to the club will be bitterly disappointed because they would have been hoping that they could erase the bitter memory of Champions League heart break from the previous two seasons.

It’s now back to the drawing board for the club because they will have to think up a different way to win in Europe. They did not turn up last night, which was disappointing.

Mourinho will be happy he had the last laugh and he will be happy he has put the ghosts of last year to rest.

Former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, has said that he feels the club were wrong to sack him in the first place.

The Portuguese is speaking ahead of the second leg Champions League tie between the club he used to manage and the club he manages now, Inter Milan in Italy.

Inter hold a narrow 2-1 lead going into the second game of the tie and will be looking to cause an upset by putting out Chelsea who have been backed by a lot of people to win the European contest this year.

He said: “I feel sorry, but I look forward. I feel sorry because when I look at the big four teams while I was in England they’re all still there. Sir Alex is there. Wenger is there. Benítez is there. I did more than enough to be here. But the decision was made.”

“Chelsea looked forward. I look forward. They move on. I move on. I keep winning important things. They keep winning something. They won an FA Cup. I have nothing to prove to Chelsea, to Chelsea’s players, to Chelsea’s fans, to Chelsea’s board.”

“My celebrations will be more restrained if we win because it’s Chelsea. But don’t confuse this emotional control with a lack of professionalism. I watched Inter v Chelsea seven times and gave everything to prepare for this game. I will give everything to try and help my team win. Before the game I know everybody and I love them, and after I know everybody and I love them. But for 90 minutes I know nobody.”

“I think I will still be special whatever happens. I want to coach when I’m 70 and will still have things to prove. So after the game I will be the Special One. Win or lose.”

Chelsea are in a good position to cut the deficit because they are free of major injury worries and they are playing on their own ground. Two things, which should work greatly in their favour.

However, Mourinho knows better than anyone else how Chelsea will be likely to approach this game. He still knows a lot of the players and will be able to pick on their weaknesses when other managers couldn’t.

It is not likely that Inter will come to London and look to defend what they have. They will have to try and attack to make the game and the result a certainty. The defeat to Manchester United last year would have hurt.

Mourinho will also want to show one and all at his former club that he has moved on from the days when he brought two titles to Chelsea. He will want to show them they were wrong to let him go in the first place.

The line ups of the sides are unknown at this stage but both will probably go in with some attacking intent to make sure they come through the tie.

AC Milan have closed the gap on city rivals Inter to just one point at the top of Seria A after a 1-0 win over Chievo. The Rossanari grabbed all three points, despite a lacklustre display, courtesy of an injury-time winner from veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf.

However, the game was marred by injury to David Beckham, who is now expected to miss this summer’s World Cup after tearing his Achilles tendon in the second period. Milan boss Leonardo will take the injury on the chin, though, and can now set his sights on winning the club’s first Scudetto title since 2004, such is the dominance of bitter rivals Inter.

Jose Mourinho has aided Milan’s resurgence with a string of poor results domestically in recent months, letting a one-time eight point lead be reduced to a single one. The turnaround in fortune could prove a blessing for the Italian game as its popularity has suffered due to a combination of Juventus’ fixing scandals, Inter’s four consecutive titles and a general dip in quality of the top sides.

A head-to-head close season between two of the most successful sides in the history of the Italian game should now put Seria back into the limelight and, should Milan overhaul Inter completely, could re-ignite interest in the league in the long-term.

Meanwhile, the race for the last UEFA Champions League spot heated up as all three teams contending for fourth place dropped points on Sunday. A double from Alessandro Del Piero couldn’t provide victory for Juventus who were held 3-3 at home by Siena and they remain in fifth place.

Elsewhere, Palermo remain in the coveted fourth spot despite going down 3-2 away to Udinese. The other team in contention for the European spot is Sampdoria, and they were denied three points away to Bologna as an injury time equaliser from Andrea Raggi sealed a 1-1 draw at the Renato Dall’Ara.

Inter Milan manager, Jose Mourinho, has been savouring the sweet taste of success after he beat his former club, Chelsea, last night.

There had been many exchanges of words between Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti before the game but it is the Portuguese who won the game 2-1 and will take back a narrow lead to Stamford Bridge.

Inter were really up for the game and it is encouraging to see that Mourinho has lost not a single part of his tactical prowess and knowledge. Chelsea will feel cheated out of a second away goal as they feel they should have had a penalty but it was not to be.

Mourinho said: “At Stamford Bridge I expect everyone to be pleased to have me back, as we were happy together. I go back to a different dressing room, a different dugout, and they know that normally Mourinho is lucky at Stamford Bridge.”

“I have to control my emotions. I have to be professional, like I was today and like the Chelsea players were today. In the tunnel it was not a normal game for me and it was not a normal game for them, but on the pitch it was a normal game.”

“Of course I’m happy inside, as a professional I want to win, more than anybody else.”

Ancelotti added: “I think it was a penalty in the first half, but a penalty is when the referee whistles. We were unlucky this evening and hope it will be better in the future. I believe we played quite well. We played a good game, with personality, with courage and with spirit. The result is not so positive, but not so bad.”

“Cech has an injury on his calf. We have to wait and control his condition and see when he can return to the squad.”

Inter fans will be encouraged to see that their team have come a long way since they were soundly beaten in the same competition by Manchester United last season.

It really was an exciting and high-tempo Champions League tie that many people will not forget in a hurry. The Inter boss now has a bit of ammunition to take back to Chelsea with him and it will be interesting to see just how Inter approach the game.

Chelsea will back themselves on their own ground to beat anyone who comes to play. The team will also be intent on making up for the disappointment of being knocked out by Barcelona last season in such controversial fashion.

The game is very evenly balanced and it is exciting for the neutral to behold. Mourinho will most likely have a little sense of smug self-satisfaction but he is not naïve enough to think that Inter are through yet.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t come and park the bus or look a little nervous on his former hunting ground. It wouldn’t be surprising if Inter now run away with it.

Jose Mourinho, manager of Inter Milan, has responded to the number of jibes aimed at him by Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti.

Chelsea and Inter meet this evening in a huge Champions League contest and the two managers have been locked in a war of words over the last couple of days in the build up to the match.

Mourinho has said that the only reason Chelsea are still a heavy weight of the football world is because of him while Ancelotti has focused his criticism on the inadequacies of the Inter squad and their Mourinho’s insistence on focusing on everyone but himself.

Mourinho said: “If Ancelotti says that, it’s because he knows, or because somebody told him. Or because he belongs to the clan. I just do my job. I’m here to play a game of football.”

“Ashley Cole at this moment has to take care of himself and take care of his recovery. I called him a couple of days ago because I care about him. I wished him a very, very quick recovery. Because I like him very, very much, my advice to him is to stay in England.”

“I watched Ashley Cole play until the moment he had his injury, and he played superbly. If he has problems, for sure they are not on the pitch. I think Ancelotti must give him advice, his family must give him advice and he must think for himself, but if he really wants my advice, I think he should stay in England.”

“The most beautiful thing in football for a coach is the passion and respect of his players, and the supporters of his own club. That happens with me all the time, at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. That makes me proud. What Didier keeps saying about myself makes me proud, but I know what will happen tomorrow. I know that tomorrow he will break his legs for Chelsea.”

Inter stand a very good chance of progressing into the next stage of the Champions League but it will be a lot more difficult for them. Chelsea are the strongest team in England at the moment and all of the pre-match stories will fire them up.

Mourinho is an expert in knowing how to push all of the buttons in the managers of teams his side are about to face. He did it for a long time in England and got away with it for a long time in England.

It is impossible to count the number of times he forced the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger to come out in the media with outrageous comments in the build up to a Premier League game.

Both sides are on top form and both sides will want to win more than any thing else. What it will come down to is who is up for the game more. Mourinho may just edge the tie on tactics but Ancelotti is no mug.

Former Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho, has started the war of words with his former club ahead of their Champions League clash tomorrow.

It will be the first time that Mourinho, now boss of Inter Milan, would have faced his former side and he has beaten Chelsea to it by releasing his statements in the press. Mourinho is no stranger to causing a bit of controversy in the media.

Inter Milan have a very good squad of players and there is nothing that the Portuguese will want more than to get one over on his former club. Chelsea are currently the best side in England and will fancy chances of their own.

Mourinho said: “Chelsea today is the consequence of what I built up. They haven’t forgotten what I did for the club and how I made history. Before I arrived they bought the wrong players. I brought in Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira because I needed them for specific positions and I knew the players.”

Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti, responded: “I don’t know [what Mourinho is saying], because I think that Chelsea had a fantastic season also after he was there. Avram Grant did fantastic work here and [led Chelsea to] the Champions League final.”

“I never said he is my friend. We didn’t go to eat together and to drink wine together. Usually when you go to eat and to drink one, two, three glasses of wine, usually you have a good relationship, but we didn’t..”

“It is no problem because I will eat this evening and he will eat the same. In Italy we are not used to drinking wine after matches, but when he comes to England, maybe it will be no problem. It could be a good moment to improve our friendship.”

Chelsea will be looking to cash in on their good form of late and will want to take an away goal back to London with them. If they deploy an attacking system then this is a real possibility for Chelsea to make up for the heartbreak of missing out in the Champions League over recent seasons.

The problem is that this Inter side is still relatively new and has a number of good players who will be hungry and wanting to make a point. Mourinho has quickly built the strongest side in Italy and his team do look to have a good balance.

Hopefully Chelsea can take the attack to Inter and do English football proud. However, they can be encouraged and a little wary of comments coming from the Inter boss like this.

On the one hand, it is a sign that Mourinho is very determined to get one over in his former side and prove his team can beat English sides after last year’s defeat to Manchester United. On the other, it is possibly a sign that he is a little nervous ahead of the clash.

It all makes for a mouth watering game of football as England and Italy’s finest lock horns once again.

Inter Milan had their lead at the top of Seria A cut to seven points after their second successive draw, this time at the hands of Napoli.

Jose Mourinho’s men started the weekend nine points clear but were held 0-0 in Naples, a result which moves the home side back into fourth spot which they temporarily vacated to Sampdoria, who beat Fiorentina 2-0 on Saturday night with goals from Franco Semioli and Giampaolo Pazzini.

Also on Saturday night, second-placed Roma demolished Palermo 4-1 at home, with a Matteo Brighi brace, a Julio Baptista strike and a John Arne Riise goal helping them to three points.

Fabrizio Micolli garbbed a consolation for Palermo and the three points took the Romans to within six points of the Champions, before their draw increased the gap to seven.

On Sunday, Juventus climbed back into contention for a UEFA Champions League spot after beating Genoa while Lazio enhanced their chances of Seria A survival.

With Roma and Sampdoria having won on Saturday night, the pressure was on Alberto Zaccheroni’s men not to fall further behind the leading pack.

And they duly obliged, coming out on top of a fiery encounter at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin in a 3-2 win over Genoa. Marco Rossi gave the away side a 16th minute lead before Brazilian striker Amauri levelled for the Old Lady just before half time.

Veteran forward Alessandro Del Piero put the home side in front just after the hour mark after he was teed up by Diego. The lead was short lived, however, as Rossi grabbed his second of the game to even up the game once more.

Captain Del Piero continued his influential performance as he won and converted a penalty twelve minutes from time to give Juventus a much needed win.

At the bottom, meanwhile, Lazio eased their relegation worries with a well-earned 2-0 win over ten man Parma at Ennio Tardini.

Guglielmo Stendardo finally broke the deadlock on 68 minutes and the home side had Luis Jimenez dismissed five minutes later for a deliberate handball.

Lazio entered cruise control with the extra man and former Birmingham forward Mauro Zarate grabbed his 8th of the season in stoppage time to round off the win.

Elsewhere, Cagliari continued their impressive league form with a 3-1 home win over Bari, taking them up one position to 8th place.
The hosts were cruising by the break through goals from Daniele Conti and Brazilian forward Nene, but Salvatore Masiello pulled a goal back for the visitors on 52 minutes.

The two goal lead was restored just a minute later, though, as Andrea Cossu took full advantage of Bari ‘s vulnerability having just got themselves back into the game.

Basement club Siena grabbed a surprise 1-0 win away to Chievo to give their faint survival hopes a much needed boost with three points. Brazilian striker Reginaldo scored only his second of the season on 73 minutes which was enough to settle the contest.

Meanwhile, Livorno’s survival hopes took a turn for the worst as they lost 1-0 at home to Bologna, dropping them into the relegation zone in place of Lazio.

Veteran striker Marco Di Vaio, 33, grabbed his ninth goal of the season on 22 minutes, sealing the win which was enough to maintain their 14th position in the table.

Elsewhere, Gianpaolo Bellini saw red for two bookable offenses in a 0-0 stalemate between Catania and Atalanta at the Stadio Angelo Massimino
The defender was dismissed with 73 minutes on the clock, but the hosts were unable to break down the sturdy ten men in the closing stages, with Atalanta worthy of their point.

Champions Inter Milan went nine points clear at the top of Seria A despite being held to a 1-1 draw with Parma at Stadio Ennio Tardini. Jose Mourinho’s men played the final 20 minutes of the match with an extra man after Parma’s Francesco Valiani received two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes in what was Inter’s game in hand over their title rivals.

Earlier in the contest, on-loan Manchester City striker Valeri Bojinov handed Parma the lead with his fifth goal of the season on 54 minutes before substitute Mario Balotelli restored order four minutes later.

Despite the hosts then being reduced to ten men, Inter were unable to break down Francesco Guidolin’s men once more but the point takes Inter a step closer to retaining their title after opening up a ten point gap from Roma.

For Parma, the point takes them eight clear of the relegation zone as the team edges slightly closer to securing their status in Italy’s top flight for another season after returning to the division following a year in Seria B.

Indeed, it was this fixture on the final day of the 2007-08 season in which Inter condemned the Gialloblu to relegation with a 2-0 win, but Parma’s surviving players from that day showed no affects of that forgetful experience as they dealt with Inter’s prowess aptly this time around.

Despite Mourinho marching towards his second title in two seasons at the San Siro, speculation continues to surround his future in charge with rumours of a rift with club president Massimo Moratti the subject of media frenzy in Italy.

Reports suggest the Portuguese coach is ready to fork out around £5million from his own pocket to walk away from the club as his erratic behaviour on both the touchline and behind the scenes begins to take its toll on the dressing room morale.

Moratti has accused Mourinho of trying to force his way out of the club with Real Madrid and Liverpool believed to be monitoring his situation, prompting the former Chelsea boss to offer to buy out his own contract to prove he is not after a cash settlement.

Moratti is also believed to be unsatisfied with Mourinho’s efforts in the UEFA Champions League, where the San Siro giants continue to lack any real threat to the rest of Europe’s elite. Inter face Mourinho’s former club Chelsea in the second round knock out stage, to begin next week, having been easily knocked out of the competition by Liverpool and Manchester United in the last two seasons respectively.

Thus, the two-legged meeting will have added spice as Mourinho will not only be out to topple his old club but also prove a point in his war of words with those above him in the club’s hierarchy.

The problems behind the scene, however, do not look to be halting the club’s charge towards a 5th consecutive Seria A title with the result against Parma also taking them eleven points above bitter city rivals AC Milan.

It’s fitting that Andriy Shevchenko used to be a boxer as a kid. The forgotten 32-year-old Chelsea forward is at the moment like a struggling fighter, lying on the canvas after a 10th round knock-down. He looks beaten, tired and fed up with what he’s putting himself through, but he knows he has to get up. He knows he can’t give in and succumb to throwing in the towel with his career on the line.

It was boxing which first captured the imagination of sports-mad Shevchenko as a kid, and he even competed at LLWI Ukrainian junior league level before discovering his gift for football. But after being coached at both sports as a youngster, the former Dinamo Kiev striker needs to take a boxer’s mentality into his current profession, and he needs it now more than ever.

Carlo Ancelotti took over the reigns at Chelsea at the beginning of this month, and for Shevchenko it must have felt like the bell sounding a second after he’d found his feet on time following that 10th round flooring.

After all, Ancelotti is the coach who guided him to great things at Milan. To winning the Champions League in 2003 and following it up with the Seria A title the next year, polished off with the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.

Under the Italian boss Shevchenko became the most feared striker in the planet and when Roman Abramovich sweet talked his fellow Eastern European into joining his billionaire’s playground at Chelsea in 2006, defences up and down the country feared for their dignity.

When the Russian finally landed the Ukrainian for £30.8m they were getting an AC Milan legend. The Rossineri’s second all-time goalscorer, who at the time was the 3rd highest scorer in the history of European club football. A genuine modern legend, who simply couldn’t fail to live up to his billing upon his switch to London.

Except he could…and he did. It wasn’t entirely the player’s fault however as he was brought to the club in circumstances the English game is not yet equipped to deal with. Jose Mourinho was the Chelsea boss but Shevchenko certainly wasn’t his signing, and the Portuguese master showed both the Ukrainian and Abramovich exactly why they called him the ‘boss’.

Mourinho was reluctant to use the Ukrainian as a mainstay in his starting line up, instead preferring Didier Drogba, the signing he himself had arranged. ‘The Special One’ proved exactly why the formula of chairmen and owners buying players simply doesn’t work in English football. Rafael Benitez reiterated this with his similar shabby treatment of Robbie Keane, a £20m flop signed by then Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry.





It’s the players who suffer ultimately, and boy has Shevchenko suffered. Keane, incidentally, has since returned successfully to Tottenham where Liverpool bought him from in a move which mirrored that of Shevchenko’s loan return to his ‘home’ at AC Milan last year.

Mirrored except for one thing – success. While normal service was resumed for Keane at White Hart Lane, it has been a different story for the Ukrainian’s return to the San Siro. The striker did not find the net once in his 17 league outings last term for Milan and was largely subject to embarrassing cameo appearances to please the crowd towards the end of the campaign.

Just two goals in all competitions after 26 games has damaged his previously incredible record for the Italian giants. But his performances were so poor and his confidence so low that not even his beloved Milan fans would take him back again.

And so the fallen star returns to Stamford Bridge with hopes of making an impact in the final year of his contract, and with his former Milan boss now in charge his hopes actually seem very real. He had the opportunity to join Monaco and bask in a luxury villa reflecting on what has been an amazing career. But upon hearing of Ancelotti’s arrival in London, the man who once coached him to be the best striker in the world, he fancies another crack at the Premier League.

At 32, Shevchenko is sitting in the corner ready to come out for the 11th round of his career. The next round is crucial if he is to prolong his career the full distance. He knows he hasn’t got long, he knows he’s already been knocked down, but he also knows it’s not over. The Ukrainian is now reunited with his father-figure coach, determined not to go out of his Chelsea career without a fight.

It’ll take all the patience, discipline and skill of a boxer to turn this one around, but for Shevchenko, next season is there for the taking. So don’t rule him out just yet, because this one could yet go to the scorecards.

Inter Milan manager, Jose Mourinho, has moved to try and sign Deco and Ricardo Carvalho from his previous club Chelsea. Carvalho is said to be growing frustrated at his inability to get back into Chelsea’s main plans and joins Deco in wanting a move away from West London.

Deco said last week that a move away from Chelsea was a virtual certainty for him and Mourinho still highly rates Carvalho, which could see him fund a double swoop for the pair. It would be a good move for both parties. On the one hand Carlo Ancelotti will want to get rid of the baggage at Stamford Bridge and Mourinho will be getting two players who he believes can help decrease the gap between Inter and the other teams in Europe.

Both of the Chelsea stars would also profit from the fact that the Italian league is slower than the top-flight in England. Both Deco and Carvalho are not in the infancy of their careers any more and it could be a move which sees retirement put off for a little while longer as they adapt to a new league and way of life.

Inter president, Massimo Moratti said: “”[Jose] Mourinho has asked us for Deco and Carvalho and we are working towards making him happy. Our wish is to sign both players and I have seen that the players’ intention is to join us. We still haven’t reached an agreement with Chelsea but I think we will do in a short time.”

“We are interested in Carvalho primarily for the Champions League. He has the right experience, he is calm under pressure and brings experience in the defensive line. Our coach has guaranteed quality and I have every intention to make him happy. Deco will have two tasks: to do well immediately and to help Coutinho mature as a player. Coutinho will arrive next season and plays in the same role as Deco.”

Inter were also reported to be interested in signing Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich, but as the Germans have put such a high price on the Frenchman they will need to sell first. This generated the news that they quoted a massive price for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Real Madrid and Mouirnho could be forced into smaller signings before taking the massive ones.

The best part of this deal for Inter is the experience they will be getting. A lot of activity is taking place in the transfer market which is threatening to destroy the English dominance of European football. Real Madrid and Inter Milan will be bigger and tougher propositions next season and Mourinho will be working all the time to try and decrease this gap.

Chelsea will benefit by losing two unhappy players but they will struggle to be able to replace the experience and wealth of knowledge that Deco and Carvalho had during their time at Chelsea. Their loss is another clubs gain. However, it was a move that had to happen and everyone seems satisfied.