Jose Mourinho Slams Chelsea, Aims Veiled Dig at Fernando Torres After PSG Loss

Jose Mourinho bemoaned Chelsea's performance during his side's 3-1 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, aiming a less-than-subtle barb in the direction of Fernando Torres.

The Portuguese boss watched on as his team capitulated in the second half. An own goal from David Luiz and a stunning solo effort from Javier Pastore added to Ezequiel Lavezzi's opener, overpowering Eden Hazard's equalising penalty.

Mourinho reacted angrily to his team's defensive display and individual lapses, as reported by Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail:

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We couldn't transform half chances into goals. And on top of that, we made individual defensive mistakes—so we paid the price. We scored in our own goal, and the third goal is a joke. Not a goal, a joke.

"

Michel Euler

Mourinho opted to start Andre Schurrle up front in favour of Torres, despite the Spanish striker scoring against Galatasaray in the previous round. He eventually swapped the players on 59 minutes, but he had no kind words for Torres, per Ashton's report:

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I’m not happy with my strikers’ performances so I had to try things. And with Andre at least I know we have one more player to have the ball, one more player to associate with the other players, even though he’s not a striker.

But football is not just about that. It’s also about scoring goals, getting behind, and that is for strikers. Real strikers.

"

Christophe Ena

The timing of Mourinho's criticism will leave many confused. Torres is likely to be called upon during next week's second-leg tie, a match Chelsea need to win 2-0 or by three clear goals if PSG score, meaning plenty of firepower is needed up top.

Chelsea also have an important run of Premier League games to wade through after suffering consecutive away defeats against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Mourinho's blunt words are sure to cause a reaction among his players, as it has done with the press, noted by former Associated Press journalist Ketil B. Stensrud:

Torres has one goal in his last 11 games for Chelsea, per WhoScored.com. He has netted three in Europe this season, but his total of four in the domestic division is lower than Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel, Everton full-back Seamus Coleman and versatile Villa defender Leandro Bacuna. Perhaps most tellingly, Arsenal reject Marouane Chamakh has five.

Unfortunately for Torres, he did little to impress in France. The former Atletico Madrid striker managed 12 touches in half an hour, completed 50 percent of his passes and failed to have an attempt on goal.

Previous to his latest bash on Chelsea's strikers, Mourinho singled Samuel Eto'o out for criticism in a more obvious manner. He suggested the 32-year-old is "maybe 35" and that Chelsea "lack a scorer" in secretly filmed footage that was aired on France's Canal+, reported by Matt Barlow and Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail.

Christophe Ena

The manager's insistence that he has no goalscoring power is getting more insidious as time progresses. Mourinho doesn't typically show such a lack of tact, but his latest outburst may be in protest to the Chelsea board.

If he continues to outline the lack of quality, Roman Abramovich is likely to react in the summer. With players such as Diego Costa linked with the club, per Tim Clement of Sky Sports, Mourinho may be trying to ensure plenty of money is spent at the end of the current campaign.

His decision to blast players in public appears to be a risky game. Mourinho's stature at the club always affords him leeway, but right now, a little encouragement may help Chelsea's misfiring strikers.

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