Mourinho coy over Hazard's absence

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was evasive when asked why attacking midfielder Eden Hazard had been omitted from his squad for the 3-0 win over Schalke in the Champions League.

The 22-year-old Belgium international has found form in recent weeks, but he watched from the stands at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday as Chelsea closed to within a point of the last 16.

Mourinho revealed before kickoff that Hazard had "missed a crucial training session", but he replied enigmatically when pressed to explain what had happened in his post-match media conference.

Hazard was in France to watch former club Lille play Monaco on Sunday evening and there are suggestions he returned late the following day, but Mourinho said he still expected him to play in Saturday's Premier League game at home to West Bromwich Albion.

"I don't want to lie. He's not injured," Mourinho said.

Asked why Hazard had missed training, Mourinho suggested: "He forgot the time?"

He then said: "Let's end the story. He's a kid, kids make mistakes. And fathers have to be clever in the way they educate their sons.

"He didn't play. He wanted to play, he's sad because he didn't play. We won without him and Saturday he's back, so no story, or end of story."

Mourinho also paid tribute to Samuel Eto'o, who scored Chelsea's first two goals.

The Cameroon striker charged down a kick from dawdling Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand to break the deadlock and added a second before substitute Demba Ba completed the scoring.

The victory, Chelsea's 100th in UEFA competitions, left Mourinho's side three points clear at the top of Group E and needing just a draw from its penultimate game away to Basel to reach the last 16.

(China Daily 11/08/2013 page23)