Jose Mourinho was left to reflect on a job well
done after this afternoon's 2-0 victory at Derby
in the FA Cup.
Like at Southampton on Wednesday, the first
half was entertaining and end to end, if shorn of
goals, and like at Southampton it needed a
second-half header to open the scoring.
After Michael Essien was replaced John Mikel
Obi took the captain's armband, and, on his
300th appearance in a Chelsea shirt, capped his
day with a goal, thumping home Willian's free-
kick with a bullet header.
Oscar added a second soon after, swerving the
ball past Derby's keeper Lee Grant with a fine
strike, and the remaining minutes were played
out in relative comfort as we eventually eased
into the fourth round, where a home tie with
Stoke City awaits.
Jose Mourinho said he was delighted with his
side's attitude against a side going well in the
Championship…
'The game was difficult,' said Mourinho. 'In the
first half we played quite well, we were not far
from scoring but it was still 0-0 at half-time and
that is a big risk, because after that if the
opponent scores you are in trouble.
'They got the message that in the second half we
needed an extra intensity. I decided to change
Essien for Eden Hazard to bring an extra
attacking player on to make it more difficult for
them.
'The team played seriously, we won, job done.'
It was a landmark day for John Mikel Obi, in
many respects…
'I never recognise his ability to score goals!'
the Portuguese laughed.
'I recognise his ability to play as an
anchorman, to play that position in a very
comfortable way, with no mistakes. He
reads the game well, plays in an intelligent
and safe way, but I never recognise his
goalscoring appetite.
'There was a smile on my face [when he
scored]. For some reason Essien gave him
the armband, normally it should go to
Ashley Cole, so maybe it made him believe
he was a goalscorer!
'It was important for us, we were dominating
and dominating, creating and creating but the
goal was not arriving. It was like the winning
goal.'
