Oscar calls for Premier League push

‘I don’t know how to explain this but we need to play like this in the Premier League as well because we need to win our next game. When we scored they were in a hard position because they needed to win, a point wasn’t enough for them.

Chelsea now languish in 14th place in the Premier League standings – 14 points off fourth-placed Manchester United – with Mourinho suggesting after the loss to the Cherries that his team’s inability to find the back of the net this term is costing the club.

Chelsea can meet Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Juventus, Roma or Gent in the next round and Mourinho accepts that many clubs would gladly settle for a tie against the London club.

Diego Costa may have failed to score against Porto on Wednesday, but he still made his presence felt with good movement, good link-up play, provoking a couple yellow cards, and collecting one himself, too, for a silly little incident with Iker Casillas (“we just had a joke”).

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho praised his players after a 2-0 win over Porto ensured their place in the UCL knockout round. Tonight it was great, ” Mourinho said.

“Every team finishing second wants to play us or Zenit St Petersburg”, said Mourinho.

“He could have scored two or three goals”, Mourinho said.

When the sides met at the Kingpower Stadium on April 29, Chelsea won 3-1 to all but clinch the title and stall Leicester’s ultimately successful relegation escape bid.

“Being in the Champions League is very important”.

Chelsea were set on their way by an own-goal when Diego Costa’s saved effort deflected in off Ivan Marcano before Willian put the game to bed early in the second half.

“That is not easy when the moment is so bad, when results are so negative, when the pressure is so high”. When we were candidates we lost two semifinals with Real Madrid and we lost two semifinals with Chelsea.

“There are things I have to control, but the bib thing was an impulse”.

But their form this season has been in stark contrast to that of Mourinho’s Chelsea, whose last league outing ended in a shock home defeat by Bournemouth. “His lack of confidence?”. It would be something magnificent, it would be something to impress the football world, but these things can happen.