Jose Mourinho reminds Chelsea fans of titles he won them – ‘Judas is number one’
Manchester United boss hits back after his former supporters abuse him amid fiery clashes with Conte in 1-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Stamford Bridge
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has hit back at the Chelsea supporters who abused him during Monday’s fiery FA Cup quarter-final at Stamford Bridge.
It was a chastening return to west London for the former Chelsea manager, who endured his old club’s fans calling him “Judas” and chanting “you’re not special anymore” as United lost 1-0.
Mourinho responded to the jibes by holding up three fingers to the crowd to remind them how many Premier League titles he won in his two spells with Chelsea.
“They can call me what they want. I’m a professional,” he said. “Until the moment they have a manager that wins four Premier Leagues, I am number one.
“If a manager wins four I become number two. Until then, Judas is number one.”
Mourinho was sacked for the second time by Chelsea last season, seven months after winning the Premier League title. He was also in charge when they won their first championship for 50 years in 2005.
“I feel responsibilities on Chelsea’s bad Premier League last season, but when I left we were in the Champions League, winning the Champions League group,” added Mourinho.
“Now they don’t play in Europe. It’s not my fault.”
Mourinho and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte were involved in several flashpoints at Stamford Bridge, and did not shake hands at the final whistle of a match settled by N’Golo Kante’s superb second-half winner.
Italian Conte irked Mourinho by celebrating wildly when Ander Herrera was sent off for two fouls on Eden Hazard in the first half, and they had to be separated by the fourth official following a clash between Marcos Alonso and Antonio Valencia.
“It was hard work for the fourth official but I controlled my emotion very well today,” Conte said.
“It’s normal for the manager to push his players. What happens outside the pitch is just a circus.”
Conte also hit out at United’s aggressive approach.
“My players want to play football, but for 25 minutes it was impossible,” he said. “I think only that Eden got a lot of kicks. I don’t think I’m crazy. He started the match receiving kicks and he finished it receiving kicks.
“This is the truth and I don’t think one person can say this didn’t happen. It’s not football for me.
“It could be United’s tactic. Sometimes when you play against players with great talent you try to intimidate them.
“The referee must try to protect these type of players because they can go out with a bad injury.”
Conte saluted Hazard for refusing to be intimidated despite receiving some rought treatment.
“For sure, he showed strong character. After the first 25 minutes, every player would have a fear of being kicked. It’s very dangerous to receive a kick from the back,” said the Chelsea boss.
Mourinho refused to accept the blame for his team’s approach and turned the focus on referee Michael Oliver’s decision to send off Herrera for what was one of the less vicious tackles on Hazard.
“Herrera’s second yellow card, compare that with [Marcus] Rashford going to attack the ball in a counter-attacking situation. He was fouled and the referee doesn’t give a booking,” Mourinho said.
“We all saw the game. We can all agree there was one match until Herrera saw the red card and another after that.
“I thought we were going to win because everything was under control, then with 10 men it was very difficult for us.”
