Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
Jose Mourinho – Chelsea
‘It was one point won because we arrived here as leaders with two points more than the second, and we leave with a three points lead,’ explained the manager. ‘I look to the table and we are leaders.
‘We came here to a super difficult stadium and a super difficult opponent, and we leave in better conditions than we arrived.
‘It was a very, very good performance.’
‘We hit the post with a 1-0 lead and when you don’t kill matches you are in danger, especially when you play against very good teams. We had a tactical reaction to try to win the game; they had an emotional reaction to try not to lose the game.
‘We were successful because we scored and had more chances, and they were successful because they equalised. In the end, from my perspective, the point is maybe a point they deserve.’
‘To speak about Frank is to speak about my past with Frank – the player he was for me and what he means in my career. I am never tired to speak about this, but from the moment he is a Man City player I don’t speak about other teams’ players.
‘I am the Chelsea manager and I speak about my players, and my players did fantastically.’
Manuel Pellegrini – Manchester City
“I am satisfied with the performance of my team but not the result today. I think we tried to win for 90 minutes against a small team trying to defend and trying to keep ten players in front of their goal.
“The team who tried to win from the beginning had two or three good chances to score, especially in the second half, and after we went down to ten men we continued trying to win, which is why I am so satisfied with the performance of my team but not the score.”
“I was so sure that Lampard would play well against Chelsea because he is such a good professional. He wanted to be involved from the beginning – he is a great player, very professional so I am very happy for him.”
On Lampard’s role in the squad, Pellegrini added: “It was important for him to continue working every day and but also I think it is important for our team to have a player with the experience and quality of Frank Lampard.”
