'Incredible' defensive errors rankle with Jose Mourinho on his return to Chelsea

23 October 2016 07:08

Jose Mourinho rued "incredible defensive mistakes" but remained optimistic after Chelsea dismantled Manchester United 4-0 on his return to Stamford Bridge.

Pedro scored within 30 seconds to give Mourinho's former employers the lead before Gary Cahill smashed in a second with Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante sealing a resounding win in the second half.

But the Red Devils boss wants his side to focus on returning to winning ways in their upcoming matches following a tough run of fixtures.

He told Sky Sports: " In the first minute, you analyse the goal and you can see what happened - we made incredible defensive mistakes, individual defensive mistakes and you pay for that.

" In terms of points, it's zero points - if you lose 1-0 or 4-0 you lose three points. We are six points from the top of the league and now we have to win matches.

"We had a week where we have played two (title) candidates in Liverpool and Chelsea and now the other teams from the top five have to play among themselves, they have to draw and lose the points each.

"We need to win our matches now, which is not easy but we play Burnley, we play Swansea and West Ham and we need to win matches to close the gap."

On his reception at Stamford Bridge, he said: "I was not expecting anything different and the crowd behaved in the normal way so. nothing wrong."

He refused to elaborate on what he said to Chelsea boss Antonio Conte after the full-time whistle in what appeared to be a heated exchange between the two.

Conte believes the emphatic win is crucial for his Chelsea side as they look to continue their surge to a title tilt at the end of the season.

He told Sky Sports: "It is very important because after two defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, to two great teams, it was important for us.

"The players deserve this because I see everyday the commitment in the training sessions. We started very well, very strong and that is what I asked for before the game.

"I think we are improving - we must continue to work, we know we have a long way to go but I am satisfied for them and they deserved this type of game.

"I believed David Luiz played a fantastic game and I do not know if he deserved a red card or yellow, he is a honest player but I did not see the incident."

On lifting the crowd towards the end of the match, Conte said: "I was listening to the support of Manchester United who kept supporting their team.

"After a win like this I asked my fans to come together for the players for that performance. I think this is normal."

Source: PA