LONDON -- Jose Mourinho was in a combative mood after Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday, as the Blues boss was hit with a barrage of questions about the conduct of his forward, Diego Costa, who he claimed was his “man of the match” despite the striker being involved in several unsavory moments.
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Costa, 26, stayed on the pitch despite flailing his arms at Arsenal defenders on numerous occasions in the first half, see the video above, which led to a reaction from Gabriel who was subsequently sent off on the stroke of half time and Chelsea scored two second half goals to seal a huge win against their London rivals.
After the game, Arsene Wenger complained readily about Costa getting away with those actions and Mourinho had the following to say when told about Wenger’s comments, as the two managers continue their bitter feud despite Mourinho making a point of offering to shake Wenger’s hand before the game.
Mourinho has never lost a competitive game against Wenger, only the FA Community Shield back at August in Wembley. The Portuguese coach made a point of praising his team for keeping their cool in the cauldron of a London derby between two title contenders, as the Gunners went down to nine-men.
“I told my players before the game, to win derbies you need emotional control. Without emotional control forget it, you don’t win,” Mourinho said. “It is something I repeat every derby, you don’t win without emotional control.”
Mourinho struggled with emotional control of his own during his post-game press conference.
Asked if Costa should be retrospectively banned for his actions against Arsenal defenders Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, Mourinho was incensed.“I think you should speak about Gabriel Paulista,” bellowed Mourinho. “Good player, you should speak about him and his mistake. If you want to speak about Diego Costa with me, it is just to say he played like he has to play. That is why you have full stadiums, you sell to television stations all around the world for millions, because the game has to be played like that.
“That is why tomorrow, I go to [Rugby World Cup],” Mourinho added. “It is comparable in terms of dedication and passion, I go to New Zealand vs. Argentina. I love it. Diego... fantastic.”
As for Wenger, he was furious that Costa was not sent off and berated referee Mike Dean.
Asked if the FA should retrospectively ban Costa, Wenger was flippant in his response.
“That’s the least they could do but he will do the same next week and the week after and he always gets away with it,” Wenger added. “For me he is always in provocation. He used well the naivety of referee Mike Dean today.”
Chelsea and Arsenal’s bitter battle for supremacy in London continues, as Mourinho and Wenger, with a little help from their players, did little during and after the game to subdue the ill feelings between the two title contenders.
