Mourinho praises ‘important’ Oscar and dismisses talk of Terry rift

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says the creativity of Oscar is crucial in big games and has insisted there is no rift with John Terry.

Oscar impressed in the midweek Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv after returning to the side following a knee injury.

And Chelsea hope he will be able to start against Arsenal when the Blues host the north London side in the Premier League on Saturday.

“Oscar is a good player and, especially when the team has the ball, he’s very important because he’s creative,” Mourinho said.

“When you play against defensive teams you need somebody that can beat people one-on-one and associate with other attacking players.

“Against a defensive opponent, he’s very good and important.”

Mourinho also gave his support to under-pressure captain Terry, insisting there is no rift with the former England defender.

Terry was dropped on Wednesday and was also taken off at half-time in the defeat against Manchester City.

Mourinho said: “Last season John played every minute but the season before he didn’t, nor the season before that. So what’s the problem?

“He is a player with my total confidence and I trust him as always and he is one of my men. If he is on the bench or I take him off at half-time nothing changes.”