• Fulham 1-3 Chelsea, Premier League

I could have made 11 changes, says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho said he 'walked out' of the Chelsea dressing room at half time at Craven Cottage © PA Photos

Enlarge

Jose Mourinho admitted he told his side "nothing - not a word" during the half-time interval of Chelsea's 3-1 victory at Fulham and insisted the club is still chasing Manchester City for the Premier League title.

Mourinho revealed he was not in the dressing room during the break and labelled his side's first-half showing at Craven Cottage as "the worst performance of the season."

However, Andre Schurrle stepped up to score a 16-minute second half hat-trick to put Chelsea four points clear at the top of the league - although Mourinho believes his team hold a "fake advantage" over City, who are six points behind with two games in hand.

"At half-time, I told them nothing - nothing - not a word," Mourinho told BBC Sport. "I walked in, then I walked out. I don't know if anyone else gave a team talk. I was not inside the dressing room. The second half was a great reaction to the worst performance of the season.

"The second half was one of the best performances of the season. We moved the ball around well. If I could've made 11 changes, I might have done, but I could only make three - so I did nothing.

"Schurrle is cold in front of the goal.We have four points more than Arsenal. The gap to Man City is a fake advantage. If they win their games in hand, they're top of the league. We're behind them."

Schurrle confirmed that Mourinho had said little during the break and had simply told his players to "get on with it." However, the midfielder praised his team-mates for turning their performance around in order to claim all three points in West London.

"The most important thing was the points. With the three goals for me, it's a perfect day. The manager said little at half-time, telling us to get on with it," Schurrle said. "This is the spirit of the team. We played very poorly in the first half and very well in the second. The players were a little tired after Wednesday but we showed our quality."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd