Veteran Italian midfielder Thiago Motta has taken a dig at the former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinnho after claiming that the club were a more difficult proposition without the Portuguese manager.
The Brazil-born Italian footballer spent 3 seasons at Internazionale and was a key squad member during their Champions League triumph in 2009-10. Having played under Jose Mourinho, the current Paris Saint-Germain player made a damning assessment of his former manager
“It’s more difficult without Mourinho.” Motta told French publication RMC. “They’ve changed their game. When we played them in the last two seasons, they were a team who played on the counter and didn’t want the ball. Nowadays, they’re a team that tries to play. It will be difficult.”
It remains to be seen how Jose Mourinho, the manager who brought Motta to Internazionale and led him to his only Champions League medal in his career so far, reacts to this statement.
Last season repeat
PSG were drawn against Chelsea in this year’s Champions League knockout stage in what will be a repeat of their European encounter last year. The two clubs had an aggregate score of 3-3 last time around, with PSG qualifying for the next round thanks to their two away goals at Stamford Bridge. The French champions didn’t get too far ahead though as they lost out to eventual winners Barcelona in the quarter finals.
The two clubs head into this season’s big match in contrasting situations. While undefeated PSG are running amok in Ligue 1 and have an unassailable 24 point lead at the top of the table, defending champions Chelsea are struggling through an underwhelming season and are currently 13th on the Premier League table.
