The Chelsea boss took aim at Liverpool’s star striker following Saturday’s 4-0 win over Tottenham while praising Eden Hazard’s refusal to “attack” Hugo Lloris
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, attacking the Premier League’s “kings of the penalties”.
The Blues manager saw his side defeat Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 on Saturday, with one of the goals coming, controversially, from the penalty spot.
Samuel Eto’o went down in the box under the challenge of Younes Kaboul and, despite there appearing to be minimal contact, the French defender was promptly sent off by referee Michael Oliver before Eden Hazard stepped up to score from 12 yards.
When questioned after the game Mourinho claimed he did not see the incident, but did point to a moment in the second minute when Hazard rounded Hugo Lloris and stayed on his feet instead of attempting to win a penalty – something he suggested the league’s “kings of the penalties” would not have done.
“We had a big opportunity in the second minute of the game, when other players with other shirts would go for a penalty and a red card for the keeper”, he said.
“Hazard doesn’t do that. He tries to go away from the keeper and he misses from a difficult angle. But other players in this league, in that situation, they attack the keeper.
“I did not see a video of Eto’o and the penalty but I want to. But you know the kings of the penalties, you know where they are – and they’re not here.”
Chelsea’s win over Spurs lifted them seven points clear of second-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and Mourinho believes his side’s composure will serve them well in the title run-in.
“We cope well with the difficult moments in the game”, he added.
“We are team that doesn’t panic when the opponent has the ball, don’t panic when we miss two or three passes and the crowd boo a little bit.
“So we are not panicky. We are stable in our game and that’s a very good quality, especially for a team with a lot of young people like we have. And when the chance arrived Eto’o killed the game.”