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Mourinho puts reds on Robben alert
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 13:06
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho warned Liverpool that Arjen Robben will be ready
to light up Wednesday's Champions League semi-final tie at Stamford Bridge.
Robben made his long-awaited return from injury in the weekend 3-1 victory
against Fulham, which put the Blues within touching distance of the title.
With Joe Cole going off injured at half-time, the Dutchman has every chance
of starting his first club game for 11 weeks against Liverpool in the first leg
encounter.
"Arjen will be better for Wednesday. He can train on Sunday, Monday and
Tuesday, so he has three more days to get his confidence back and be more
comfortable on the pitch," declared Mourinho.
"Of course, he is a very important option for us as he's a special player."
In Robben's absence since February 2 through injury, Chelsea have at least
proved they can win without him, with Cole having notably risen to the
challenge.
However, it was not until Robben came off the bench in the second-half
against Fulham that Chelsea were really shaken out of their lethargy after
facing Arsenal less than three days earlier.
"I think that, without Arjen Robben, we wouldn't have won this game. He was
sharp and, because of that, he brought a different pace and intensity to the
game," added Mourinho.
While Robben came onto the left wing, Mourinho took off makeshift full-back
Robert Huth and, with Jiri Jarosik coming into midfield, moved Damien Duff to
full-back.
It was the sort of bold, or even wild, tactical shift that Claudio Ranieri
might have attempted, but it worked.
"Because I played Duffer at left-back, I could have a natural left-footer,"
explained Mourinho, who was resting William Gallas for Wednesday and is already
without Paulo Ferreira and Wayne Bridge.
"From that point, we started to have some combinations down that flank. In
the first-half, because they knew Robert Huth could not attack, Tomasz Radzinski
was an extra man in the middle.
"But in the second-half, Radzinski had to play wide and then we got the space
in midfield to control the game. So Robben was very important for us."
The Dutchman made an immediate impact, giving Moritz Volz a torrid down down
Chelsea's left flank and soon crossing for Eidur Gudjohnsen to 'score', only for
the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Undeterred, he simply repeated the feat to cut the ball back invitingly for
Frank Lampard to strike his 16th goal of a prolific season.
That was the catalyst which Chelsea needed to seize control, with Gudjohnsen
making it 3-1 late on, as they had previously been struggling to find their
rhythm.
After all, just a few minutes before half-time, Collins John had punished a
rare slip by Ricardo Carvalho to equalise Cole's 17th-minute turn and drive from
the edge of the area.
Mourinho blamed midweek exertions against Arsenal, as well as the early
kick-off against Fulham, for his side's fatigue, but hailed their "super-human"
character.
"I told them 'we are in a very difficult situation, they are fresher and
faster than us, but this is about mentality and we have to win - I don't know
how, but we have to do it'," he revealed.
And so it was entirely fitting that Chelsea should move within touching
distance of the title on the 50th anniversary of the only other top-flight
success in the club's history.
Fulham, meanwhile, were left to look slightly nervously over their shoulders
at the relegation battle closing in on them, even if Chris Coleman maintains
they are just one victory from safety.
He nevertheless made a point of paying tribute to Mourinho's influence at
Stamford Bridge, playing down the impact of the ?00 million investment on
players in the past couple of years.
"It's one thing having hundreds of millions to spend, it's another thing
getting the players in and getting them to play as a team and respect each
other," he said.
"Anyone can buy great players if they've got the money. It's making them gel
together, that's the hardest part. But he's made that look easy this season."
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