Mourinho in passionate defence of his Chelsea players

Jose Mourinho launched a passionate defence of his Chelsea team on Friday, two days after elimination from the Champions League in acrimonious circumstances by Paris Saint-Germain.
The Premier League leaders, who are at home to Southampton on Sunday, were knocked out on away goals after extra time despite the fact that PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been sent off as early as the 31st minute.
Ibrahimovic accused Chelsea players of behaving like "babies" by crowding around the referee once the Swede had fouled Brazilian play-maker Oscar.
Mourinho, who claimed after the reverse fixture with Southampton, a 1-1 draw on December 28 last year, that there was a conspiracy among domestic referees to punish his side unfairly, was adamant that Chelsea were no more guilty of that than any other Premier League club.
"If my players surround the referee, we are charged," he said. "We have to pay a fine and if we do that, the players pay the fine. At this moment we have eight months of competition, we have been charged once and we paid for that. It's as simple as that.
"Go to the Premier League and see how many teams are charged. The only thing I know is Chelsea were charged once. It is my responsibility to train the players and help them cope with the pressure."
Mourinho also rounded on television pundits Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness after the ex-Liverpool players had been highly critical of Chelsea's performance and behaviour.
"Maybe because of diet and maybe the quality of the products we are eating, memories are getting shorter," said. "Because when Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness speak about it, it's because they are having a problem for sure.
"Just to close the chapter on the Champions League, the game finished and I was in the tunnel. One by one -- not just the players but the coaches and everybody from PSG -- I shook their hands. I told them they deserved it. I wished them good luck for the future.
"This was the way we behave after a defeat. This is the example my players get after a defeat."
"We also spoke in that moment about our future: to try and win the Premier League and, if we do that, a season with a Premier League and a Capital One Cup is a brilliant season," the Chelsea boss added.
Chelsea, who have a five-point lead over Manchester City and a game in hand, wished Manchester City and Arsenal well in the Champions League, even though both look likely to miss out on the quarter-finals.
"I wish Manchester City and Arsenal do better than us," Mourinho  said. "I wish England goes to the quarter-final with both teams or at least one of them.
"The only thing we could do for English football this season was 16 points to support the coefficient. We couldn't do more than that.
"What we can do now for ourselves and our club is win the Premier League -- 11 matches to play, only one competition."
Source: AFP