Ashamed Mourinho vows Chelsea will recover from Cup humiliation
Blues have opportunity to erase bitter taste when they host Liverpool in League Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday
Jose Mourinho insists Chelsea will quickly recover from their humiliating FA Cup exit against third-tier Bradford because most of his star players missed the stunning fourth-round defeat.
Mourinho suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats of his career as the Premier League leaders squandered a two-goal lead in their 4-2 loss at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea’s first defeat to lower-league opposition since 2008 ended their bid to win all four of the major trophies on offer this season and left Blues boss Mourinho admitting he was ashamed of the performance.
I feel ashamed and I think the players should feel exactly the same as I feel
But Chelsea have a golden opportunity to erase the bitter taste of their FA Cup misery when they host Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday in a tie delicately poised after the first leg at Anfield finished 1-1 last week.
Manchester City then visit the Bridge on Saturday in a showdown certain to have a major influence on the destination of the title.
Mourinho believes most of his players should not carry any scars from the Bradford defeat as he made eight changes against the League One side, with Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas only featuring as substitutes and Diego Costa left out of the squad.
“Does this affect the next match? I don’t know because many of the players were not directly involved in the game, I don’t think these players can be affected,” Mourinho said.
“I don’t think (Branislav) Ivanovic, (Nemanja) Matic, Diego (Costa); these guys that were not involved in the game can be affected.