Jose Mourinho has today admitted Chelsea do not have the strength in depth to win the Premier League and the Champions League. Mourinho’s Blues go into this weekend seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table and as favourites to overcome Galatasaray and progress through to the last-8 in the Champions League.
But he has suggested that he fears a double triumph will be beyond his men. Mourinho who will be without David Luiz, Ashley Cole and probably Fernando Torres too. He said:
“If you ask me ‘can we go all the way in the Champions League and the Premier League?’ I think it’s very difficult. Our squad is quite short. On top of that, two of our players(Nemanja Matic and Mohammed Salah) cannot play in the Champions League. So it’s 20 minus two, which is 18, minus Van Ginkel is 17. That’s not a huge squad in terms of numbers or experience to cope.
“Of course, it depends on what you mean by ‘cope’. To cope yes. To play and do our best, yes. We have to ‘cope’ but in the meaning of 20 top players ready to change from match to match, a big turnover, five or six players from the Villa match to the Galatasaray match? No, we don’t have that.
“To win the Premier League we have to win nine matches and also have to wait for City not to win every match. Then to win the Champions League we have to beat Galatasaray and somebody in the quarter-finals and somebody in the semi-finals, and somebody in the final. And by somebody, I mean the best teams in the world.
“So I think both are very, very difficult. But let’s go match by match and see what happens.”
By Charlie Gregory
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