Jose Mourinho insisted Chelsea’s 4-0 dismantling of Real Betis confirmed they were now realistic contenders to win this season’s Champions League.
He said: “We are one of many teams who can win it, but everyone knows Chelsea is a very strong team.
“After 13 goals in games against Liverpool, Bolton and Betis, people can see it is our intention to win, play well and score goals.
Goals from Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole and Hernan Crespo helped Chelsea to a comfortable win and took them to the top of Group G and on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stage.
“We are not in the knockout stages yet, but we are in a good position.
“I think the beginning of the game was fantastic for both teams. We wanted to win, they wanted to win. They started well, and I don’t think we started badly but they gave us a difficult match in the beginning.
“After the first goal, the game was completely different. Maybe 4-0 is a heavy result for them but in the second half we controlled the game.”
“We were able to explore counter attacks after we went 2-0 up. They gave us a lot of space and maybe mentally they felt it wasn’t possible for them to win the game.
“The key was that the players understood that the goals would arrive naturally. You don’t have to chase goals when you are winning 2-0 against a team that is trying to score.
“You don’t have to make efforts to score, you just control the game and wait naturally.”
Chelsea skipper John Terry singled out Michael Essien for praise.
“He’s been a different class since he’s been here,” Terry said. “It was going to be difficult but he’s fitted in with everyone and has been outstanding on the pitch.”
