Mourinho heaps praise on Juan Mata

Juan Mata

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has praised midfielder Juan Mata after the Spaniard came off the bench and produced a sparkling display in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham.

Mourinho also said that Mata will start in the Champions League game against Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday night.

“This is the way players have to tell me they want to be in my team. I sometimes make a mistake as a manager, but I make my decisions on what I see in training and on the pitch. I liked what Mata did against Swindon in the Capital One Cup and I put him on the bench today,” said Mourinho.

“Now I like what I see when he plays for 45 minutes. I’m a very happy manager when I see Juan Mata playing like this. I can tell you now that he will play against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Tuesday — he deserves that chance. I want my players to tell me they want to play. Juan told me that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mata said that he just wanted to do his best on the pitch and respect his teammates.

“I just tried to do my best for the team. Everyone wants to play. I respect all of my team-mates and I want to enjoy it on the pitch. Today I did it,” he said.