Boss Mourinho savours Chelsea improvement

Jose Mourinho says a much-improved defensive effort from his midfield and attackers is behind Chelsea’s return to form.

A 2-0 win over Arsenal, just Chelsea’s second in six Premier League games this season, followed the 4-0 Champions League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv.

And although Diego Costa’s typically spiky display – which so riled Arsenal and led to Gabriel’s game-changing red card late in the first half – grabbed most of the headlines, Blues boss Mourinho was equally impressed by his side’s workrate.

“We improved a lot in the last two matches – in many aspects,” Mourinho said. “Defensively the team was much better. The attacking players defended much better.

“I will watch the game again and go for stats. I will see how many times my attacking players lost the ball and recovered the ball.

“Oscar, Diego, Eden and Pedro make it easy to be a defender because you sit there and the attacking players do half of your job.

“They created a compact zone and reacted very well to the moments when they lost the ball. That gives great stability.

“We were confident and comfortable with the ball. We gave them no chances and kept good balance behind the ball. The attacking players started moving much more.”