Chelsea late show closes the gap

14 April 2012
Everton 2 Chelsea 3

Jose Mourinho claimed Chelsea had put down a title marker by snatching a memorable win at Everton with two brilliant goals in the last nine minutes at Goodison Park yesterday.

The Chelsea manager became embroiled in a bitter diving row involving Everton striker Andy Johnson but was more concerned with the way his side kept the pressure on leaders Manchester United after appearing to be on the brink of defeat against Everton.

Trailing 2-1 with nine minutes left, the defending champions hit back to claim the points with spectatcular long-range goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

"When everything is shining and blue skies and flowers, it is great," said Mourinho. "But when it is not like that, it is important to show your character. We did that today, and it doesn't matter what the gap is going into our next game, we showed what we are about.

"We all want to play great music all the time, but if that is not possible, you have to hit as many right notes as you can. There is still 50 per cent of the Premiership to go, and we are in there fighting.

"We are having a few problems. I know that, and perhaps it was not ideal to go into the season with only three central defenders. But if we can be only a handful of points off the pace after a spell when we have not been at our best, I will settle for that."

Mourinho received a ticking off from a policeman, who approached assistant-manager Steve Clarke and appeared to deliver a warning message to the Chelsea boss, after the furore that followed a failed penalty appeal by Johnson, who went sprawling over keeper Henrique Hilario.

"In my country, you always used to say a player who chased penalties like that was intelligent," said Mourinho.

"I have been in your country three years now, and I am getting used to a new culture. You have a different way of describing it. To be polite, you would say he is dangerous. I had no complaint with the officials, only with the player.

"I think he was actually embarrassed by it, but at least he behaved after that. We have been finding it difficult to score goals lately but the ones that won the game for us were magnificent."

Asked whether he thought Mourinho's touhline antics had inflamed the situation, as the Chelsea manager waved an imaginary card at the linesman and had to be dragged away by the fourth official, Everton manager David Moyes said: "He probably overdid that and made things worse. He has a big 15 stone guy at the other end of the pitch who is quite partial to that sort of thing himself, anyway. It wasn't a penalty, but, equally, Andy did not dive.

"He got out of the way of the keeper, and you have to wonder how Chelsea want things to be played. It's not long ago that they were complaining about contact being made with their keeper in a similar situation. Andy made sure there wasn't any, so what are you supposed to do?"

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