Why FA Cup Exit Will Prove a Blessing for Chelsea

Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent Blanc has started the so-called mind games ahead of Chelsea's trip to the French capital on Tuesday.

"Jose Mourinho is a genius," he told Le 10 Sport (per Daily Mail) last week. "He lost his [FA] cup match 4-2 [against Bradford City] and he has given himself a week to prepare for his match against us in the Champions League."

Anyone in attendance at Stamford Bridge last month would say otherwise.

Mourinho was furious with his players that day and in a desperate attempt to win the game had completely inverted his formation—come the final whistle it was more 1-3-2-4.

Rested players such as Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard had been pulled from the bench to rescue Chelsea's hopes of an unprecedented quadruple, yet it was all in vain and the Bantams got a surprise, but equally deserved, victory.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

The mood in the press room after was tense.

Indeed, the air could be cut with the same knives many journalists were sharpening as they prepared to carve Chelsea and Mourinho up in the following day's newspapers.

It was all self-inflicted. Chelsea were abject that day, but as Mourinho's players sat with their feet up this weekend, watching the PSG social media team embarrass themselves with some ill-advised tweets about Chelsea and parking buses—not to mention injuries to key playing personnel—the pain of FA Cup defeat would have subsided significantly.

How often do Chelsea have a week off? Very rarely.

And how often does that week coincide with one of the biggest games of the season so far?

It's coincidence that the fixture list has served Chelsea so well, but benefit them it has.

Blanc doesn't think Mourinho is a genius, nor does he think the Chelsea boss deliberately lost the Bradford game in order to give his team a better chance of defeating PSG in the Last 16 of the Champions League.

It's all a ruse, designed to deflect the pressure from Blanc and his players, putting it firmly on Mourinho.

Chelsea thrive on these moments, though. And when they've had a week to tactically and mentally prepare themselves for it, you can be sure they're going to be even more confident of turning over a team whose Ligue 1 form has been patchy.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Blanc knows that. It's why he's so eager to discuss his opposite number.

When this draw was made back in December, Mourinho said he was happy as it was as close to playing in England as you can get in the Champions League without facing a domestic foe.

A short trip on the Eurostar, Paris is actually closer to London than Newcastle, albeit by a mere four miles.

This is going to feel like a Premier League away game.

Feb. 11	Everton (H)
Feb. 17	Paris Saint-Germain (A)
Feb. 21	Burnley (H)
Mar. 1	Tottenham Hotspur (League Cup Final)
Mar. 4	West Ham United (A)
Mar. 11	Paris Saint-Germain (H)

Now his players are rested, tactically drilled and prepared, the Chelsea boss will be thinking this could be his year to bring the European Cup back to west London.

Now's the time to building momentum and the stars are beginning to align for Chelsea it seems.

Between their first and second leg with PSG, Chelsea could have been competing in the FA Cup quarter-final on Mar. 7, depending on their result this weekend.

Instead, it's another guaranteed week off. Chelsea face West Ham on Wednesday Mar 4 and do not play again until Blanc's side visit London a week later.

Feb. 11	Nantes (H)
Feb. 14	Caen (H)
Feb. 17	Chelsea (H)
Feb. 21	Toulouse (H)
Mar. 1	Monaco (A)
Mar. 4	Monaco (H)
Mar. 7	Lens (H)
Mar. 11	Chelsea (A)

As the Champions League progresses, FA Cup fixtures may well help Chelsea's European cause further.

They face Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Apr. 18, but if Louis van Gaal's side remain in the cup, that game will be rearranged to allow them to compete in the semi-finals.

Mourinho will be non-plussed as either side of that game will be a Champions League quarter-final.

So often we hear managers refuse to focus on one competition, but Mourinho will be in the unique position that, for a fortnight or so, his sole concern will what his team achieves in Europe.

And if Chelsea do go all the way to the final in Berlin on June 6, they will have a two-week window to prepare after the Premier League has ended.

Losing to Bradford the way they did will mean Chelsea's name will always crop up in lists of the greatest cup upsets we've seen.

Now the dust has settled, however, the positives of that loss could be epic.

The FA Cup has given Mourinho and his players a rare opportunity to achieve something exceptional. Now they just have to seize it.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes