Moratti hails 'Man of the Match' Mourinho

March 18, 2010 - 0:0

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti hailed Jose Mourinho as the 'Man of the Match' after he won the tactical battle with Carlo Ancelotti to dump Chelsea out of the Champions League.

Having clinched a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the San Siro, Inter defended resolutely at Stamford Bridge and frustrated Chelsea before Samuel Eto'o scored a 78th-minute goal to put the tie beyond the Blues' reach.
It is widely believed that Mourinho was brought to Inter to advance the club's European chances and Moratti feels his coach proved his quality in the tie.
""Mourinho was the Man of the Match,"" he said. ""He had courage with the decisions he made during the last few days and tonight he picked the right line-up. The players were very professional and the defenders in particular were fantastic.
""We have a side that proved it has quality and also has the necessary character to keep going forward in the competition.""
He added on the club's official website: ""It has been Mourinho's win. I had faith in Mourinho and the players and I wasn't wrong.""
Ancelotti, meanwhile, acknowledged that the Inter set-up and the hard work the players put in had prevented Chelsea from getting into their stride.
""It was not a surprise, as at the end of the first leg he had also played with this system,"" he told Sky Sport Italia. ""The work that Goran Pandev and Samuel Eto'o did held back our full-backs and they maintained the kind of pressure on our midfield that meant we could not play the game we wanted.
""We never had total control of the game and that stopped us from creating chances, even taking advantage of set plays. Above all we were never consistent in our football.
""The game was won not with quality, but with the strong pressure on every area of the field and the sacrifices made by their players. It wasn't easy to handle that many strikers, so they all had to work very hard.""
Mourinho believes his triumphant return to Stamford Bridge will cause some resentment among Chelsea fans as their team continues to fall short in the Champions League.
""It's a victory as a group and a very important one for me as a coach, but not the victory of my life,"" he said. ""That will be in the future. I'm so happy because of the way my team played. It was difficult for me to come here as an enemy where my 'home' is, here at Chelsea.
""Yesterday, someone asked me if I would still be special if I lost here. Today, I'm not so special for Chelsea supporters, who will probably never forgive me.""
He added: ""I think that the team that lost a semi-final with a goal that was not a goal, lost a semi-final on penalties, lost a final on penalties, lost a semi-final in a game that they should have won 3-0 with three penalties.
""This is the story of this club and the story of these players. This is history, one of frustration. Today, they had the ambition of going through and were frustrated today because they felt immediately that Inter were the best team.""