Leicester vs. Chelsea: Key Takeaways from Jose Mourinho's Pre-Match Presser

Jose Mourinho hailed opponents Leicester City and their manager Claudio Ranieri when he gave his press conference on Friday ahead of Chelsea's match at the King Power Stadium on Monday—and he admitted that while the Foxes could win the Premier League title, his side might struggle to finish in the top four.  

Per football writer Miguel Delaney, he said of the league leaders:

On Ranieri—his predecessor at Stamford Bridge in his first reign at Chelsea—he added:

Leicester's success has—along with Chelsea's struggles—been the story of the season so far, and the Foxes deservedly find themselves atop the league, having scored in every game and lost just once.

By contrast, Chelsea find themselves limping well behind in 14th place, just two points above the drop zone. After losing 1-0 at home to Bournemouth in their last league outing, Mourinho conceded that a Champions League place will be difficult to achieve.

Per Charlie Eccleshare of the Daily Telegraph, he said: "Before we lost the last three points against Bournemouth, I was convinced of a great December for us, to go for fourth. Now it's not so easy, so who knows. I have to say, the last defeat was something that was far away from what I believed could happen."

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Despite the resulting pressure Mourinho is under to turn things around sooner rather than later, the 52-year-old nevertheless believes he will see out his contract at Stamford Bridge, and he did not discount a return to former club Real Madrid, per Delaney:

According to Antony Kastrinakis of the Sun, Los Blancos are hoping for Mourinho to return to the Bernabeu at the end of the season.

The manager, described by Eccleshare as sounding "almost choked up," also revealed the level of support he's received from Blues fans and admitted he does not know how to react, per the club's official Twitter feed:

Lastly, he defended Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa despite their recent struggles, and he believes they will return to form in due course:

The trio have been three of Chelsea's most disappointing performers this season after sparkling last year.

If there's any truth to the old adage that "form is temporary, class is permanent," then one would expect them to turn things around eventually.

They've proven themselves to be world-class players in the past—Fabregas and Hazard in particular—so there's little reason to suspect they won't get back to their best at some point.

If they're to beat the outstanding and confident Leicester on Monday, they and Chelsea's other players will need to be much closer to their best than they have been in recent times.