19 October 2006, by Sean Gillen

Ecstatic Mourinho praises “unbelievable” Chelsea

Portuguese boss happy with Hilario

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has praised debutant goalkeeper Hilario following the Blues 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The Portuguese produced a composed display, having been unexpectedly thrown into the spotlight after injuries to ‘keepers Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini.

“Hilario showed his security from the first moment,” Mourinho said. “The team gave him confidence and he gave confidence to the team. He played a comfortable game.”

“It’s a great victory not just for the three points but the way we got the three points. I think we played a magnificent game. A great opponent of course, but the team were magnificent. From a tactical point of view, they paid attention to everything. There was unbelievable commitment.”

“Physically, unbelievable, some of our players were immortal, in a good way, some of the pace of our game, unbelievable - but I was just sad we could not kill the game earlier. We had many, many chances to score the second goal. Today the pitch was beautiful, it was 11 versus 11 and today we deserved it completely.”

“I am not saying we are much better than them. In a normal game, of course they can beat us but tonight, the most fanatical Spanish supporters, if they are honest, will have to say Chelsea were the better team.”

“I think now we can qualify with nine points but at this moment we have to think of being first in the group.”

Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona - Match Report