Mourinho praises Courtois after Chelsea's draw at Paris St. Germain
Jose Mourinho praised his 'phenomenal goalkeepers' after Thibaut Courtois helped Chelsea secure a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in their Round of 16 Champions League clash.
The Belgian justified his recall to the starting lineup in place of Petr Cech by saving sharply from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Blaise Matuidi as Chelsea secured a narrow advantage in the first leg of the tie.
"They are both phenomenal goalkeepers," Chelsea manager Mourinho told Sky Sports. "I try to read the situation and try to predict the profile of the game and the needs of the team, but the reality is it is easy. If football was nine players and two goalkeepers we would be on the moon."
Branislav Ivanovic gave Chelsea the lead in Paris but the hosts replied through Edinson Cavani and looked the more likely to go on and win the match. Mourinho said it was a positive result for the Blues after acknowledging they were on the back foot for much of the second half.
"Paris were stronger than us and we didn't create or control the game as we did in the first half," he said. "In the first half we didn't create a lot but we had the ball and moved the ball well. In the second half we lost control against a fantastic team with fantastic players.
"I give them credit and refuse to say my players were not good. Paris pressed us a lot in the second half, they played very direct and they have a monster (Ibrahimovic) who has qualities. He is not just a monster, he was dominating in the air, winning the first ball, second ball, it was difficult for us. After such a difficult second half the result is positive."
Asked whether Chelsea are now favorites to progress to the quarterfinals, Mourinho said: "I don't think we are favorites. The Champions League, knockout, last-16, with top teams and top players and at 1-1 never creates a clear favorite.
"It is a two-leg match but now it is a one-leg match. We have just a slight advantage, maybe a mental advantage that we play at home and we don't have to play again in Paris."
