Inter Milan are in a better position now than they have been in the
last seven years, according to their coach Jose Mourinho.
Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Chelsea sees the Serie A
giants take an advantage into the second leg of a Champions League
tie for the first time since 2003, when they were beaten by bitter
rivals AC Milan in the semi-final.
And Mourinho hopes that makes the difference when he returns
to Stamford Bridge.
"I think playing the first leg at home is always very
complicated," said the former Chelsea manager.
"Inter in recent years with Manchester United and before me
with Liverpool, Valencia and Villarreal have always found it
difficult and have never won.
"They have never gone abroad with a win. This is a different
situation. We arrive in London in the lead.
"Chelsea have to come from behind."
Mourinho praised his players for their performance at the San
Siro on Wednesday night, particularly after their monumental effort
in Serie A at the weekend.
The Nerazzurri battled to a goalless draw against Sampdoria
despite being reduced to nine men with 52 minutes left to play on
Saturday, leaving fatigue as a major issue last night.
Moreover, on Wednesday night the entire back line was one
yellow card away from being suspended for the second leg at
Stamford Bridge, further complicating matters in Mourinho's eyes.
"I would say it (the win) was down to the great work of the
players," he added.
"We had four players who could have been suspended for the
second leg, but they did not get a yellow card and this is the
merit of the players.
"It is not easy playing against (Didier) Drogba, (Salomon)
Kalou and (Nicolas) Anelka and not getting a yellow card and to not
even be close to one is a great achievement.
"We are a team with a different dimension now and with Lucio,
a player who can challenge Drogba in the air.
"It is not difficult to understand that two or three players
had physical problems at the end because they had run like madmen
on Saturday. It's not easy playing with nine against 11."
Mourinho, who steered Porto to Champions League success in
2004, believes the rest of Europe will have taken note of his
side's performance last night.
"I think we have demonstrated that we are a worthy Champions
League team," said the Portuguese coach. "We can play at this level
in the Champions League.
"If you put Inter into a European league, we would certainly
be a leading team in that league.
"Chelsea is a great example of a team with great quality and
we have beaten them, which means we have done great things."
