José Mourinho has dismissed concerns about Branislav Ivanovic
Chelsea boss José Mourinho has dismissed concerns that he does not trust defender Branislav Ivanovic anymore after dropping the Serbian to the bench for the Champions League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Ivanovic has come under huge criticism since the start of the campaign. His form has been a major reason behind Chelsea already conceding more goals than any other team in the league this season. Another defender who has also shared the blame is defender John Terry. Coming on the back of his most impressive season with Chelsea, it is surprising to see Terry’s form hit so hard.
Despite the recent wobbles, Mourinho says that the duo still remain important players for the club. Despite being dropped against the Israeli team, it is highly likely that they will be called for the upcoming games in the league. Chelsea are up against Arsenal in the next league outing. The confidence gained from the 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv is likely to come in handy for the game against gunners, who have suffered only one defeat in this campaign. Further, Arsenal have already gained an upper hand over Chelsea by beating the blues 1-0 in the Community Shield earlier in the campaign.
Mourinho also dismissed rumours about a bust up between John Terry and Diego Costa. "You don't see me being critical of him. So I don't think it is a question for me because I am not making an individual analysis or trying to isolate individual players from the context. I don't have any problem with any one of my players. Diego Costa fought with John Terry and before they start the fight they brought a translator for them to understand each other in the fight, because Diego cannot speak English and John cannot speak Spanish',” said Mourinho about the form of Ivanovic and Terry.