Jose Mourinho bemoaned Chelsea’s inability to put away its chances, especially during the first half of its 1-1 draw against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16first-leg in Istanbul on Wednesday. Chelsea started the game with an early 1-0 lead thanks to striker Fernando Torres, but the Blues failed to build on its lead for the rest of thefirst-half despite controlling the play. Gala equalized midway through the second half from a corner through Aurelien Chedjou.
“There are teams that score three goalswhen they find three chances. We are a team that scores one goal out of five chances,” Mourinho said, but he was quick to point out that he was not criticizing his strikers in saying that: “Whenit comes to the last choice, the finishing touch, the correct pass, we are not yet a team that delivers it and kills opponents. It’s not a criticism of the strikers, it’s just that’s what we are inthis moment.” The Portuguese went on to praise his team’s mentality: “My team, each and every one of them, give everything on the field, and they fight, they fight for each other,” he said.
Mourinho later called on Chelsea’s fans to help see the team through to the quarterfinals. “If Stamford Bridge can give 10 percent of what this public gives then that would be fantasticfor us,” he said. “We have to try and go through but it will be difficult. It is better at 1-1 than 0-0, so we cannot say it is a bad result, but obviously they are a very good team and itwill be difficult at Stamford Bridge.”