• Premier League

Mourinho: Only one team tried to win the game

ESPN staff
November 29, 2014
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea failed to score for the first time this season at the Stadium of Light © Getty Images
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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho felt his side were the only team who wanted to win as Sunderland held the Premier League leaders to a 0-0 draw, but he praised Gus Poyet's side for keeping them out.

Chelsea arrived on Wearside having started the season with an unbeaten run of 19 games and hot favourites to extend it with a victory, although they were frustrated during a game featuring plenty of combative action.

Sunderland, defending a more modest sequence of three games without defeat, sat deep when out of possession and although that policy invited pressure, they dealt relatively comfortably with what the visitors were able to throw at them.

Although Mourinho had no complaints about the performance of his players, even though they could not find a winner, he insisted that Sunderland's tactics worked.

"It's a point, it was a difficult match," he said. "Clearly only one team wanted to win, the other team wanted to stop us trying to win, but they did well.

"They defended a lot, but they defended well and that's not a crime. It's part of the game, it's strategy, so they were successful in their approach.

"My players tried everything, we took risks and we had a couple of occasions at the end, but I have nothing negative to say about my people: well done, one difficult match, one point.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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