Jose Mourinho returned to his native Portugal and tried not to offend his former club Sporting Lisbon, who gave him his first break as a manger, but the biggest compliment he could lavish on them was the fact that he plans to start Diego Costa up front.
Costa is nursing a hamstring injury and with Didier Drogba left behind in London with an ankle injury, Mourinho has decided to risk his star striker rather than play Loic Remy at the center-forward position.
‘In this moment, if Diego can play, I play Diego,’ said the Chelsea boss. ‘The team had a pre-season with him. The team worked with him a lot of times. He’s playing with us every match in the Premier League. So the team at this moment is more made to play with Diego.
‘I think Remy is learning how to play with us. His pace is good, his movement is good, he can get behind defenders, he’s not bad in the air. He has some similarities with Diego and if he has to play, no problem. But I prefer to play Diego.
‘There is a risk, yes. But we assume the risk and he plays. I don’t rest people. I make decisions. I don’t think about Arsenal on Sunday. I think about Sporting. I’m going to start with the team I think is the best team.’
It is a clue to how pivotal Mourinho suspects this game may be. All the teams in Group G go into the second game with one point and one goal. A win in the Alvalade Stadium will put Chelsea in control before back-to-back games against Maribor of Slovenia, the team expected to be the weakest in the group.
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