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These are the eggs that need a mother or father to take care of them - keep them warm in winter, bring blankets and refine them. The day will come when the weather changes, the sun will rise, and you will break the shell and those eggs will be ready for life at the highest level," said Jose Mourinho about his young footballers before the first Champions League match of the season.
However, it seems that London's "Chelsea" needs to break eggs faster.
On Wednesday, the "Blues" fans were left disappointed - the 50-year-old Portuguese, who led the fight for the third Champions League trophy, lost at home 1-2 to the Swiss club "Basel".
After the unexpectedly ended match, J. Mourinho didn't hide the fact that his pupils lack maturity and suggested that they grow faster or their Christmas gift baskets will be without the beloved "Xbox" consoles.
"Chelsea" put attacking style footballers on the field, but only Frank Lampard had real experience. For this reason, the hosts rarely posed a big threat to their opponents in the first half, although Oscar managed to score a goal in the 45th minute.
However, the goal did not discourage the Swiss - in the 71st minute, Mohamed Salah equalized the score, taking advantage of the opponents' freeze. After ten minutes, Marco Streller with a header defeated Petr Cech.
"This team is not yet mature enough to deal properly with difficult moments," Mourinho said. "In a match against Everton (Chelsea lost 0-1 in the Premier League), the team had problems solving tasks. This time was similar. They started to understand the responsibility, but when the first unpleasant episode happened, the team started to tremble. Emotionally, the team is not mature yet, and what it takes to handle a tough situation is not enough."
Mourinho allowed the £30 million worth Willian to make his debut against "Basel". The first start was for the 20-year-old Dutch Marco van Ginkel, as well as Eden Hazard and Oscar. These players showed their talent, but also their age reflected - the opponents often overcame them psychologically.
Mourinho was most critical of Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroonian striker has a lot of experience, but so far the player who played in Russia has not returned to his best form. Although F. Lampard helped control the game, Mourinho, in order to liven up the team, substituted this player when the score was 1-1.
However, the substitute Demba Ba failed to make any impact. Although the attack stalled, the biggest damage was done by poor defense, which led to the conceded goals.
"I'm happy with all my attackers. They're really good, professionals, and they gave everything they could. I can't complain," Mourinho said. "Eto'o has regained that hunger, motivation. He helps the team a lot, but sharpness will have to wait."
"The opponents scored in our best period. We had more space for the game, created several better situations. The goal that determined the "Basel" victory was scored from the zone controlled by two players. In addition, let's add that M.Streller was marked by a player. So three footballers made a mistake that led to the goal."
A year ago, London's "Chelsea" failed to advance past the group stage, although they defended the name of Champions League winners. Now, on the English club's way are the teams of "Schalke" and Bucharest's "Steaua". Few doubt that "Chelsea" will fail to move forward, but Mourinho will have to use all his skills if he wants his footballers to leave the group believing in themselves.
"The goal is to finish the group stage in first or second place. So far, we haven't lost anything - the goal is reachable. Football is always the same - you need to work hard. We have to believe in each other and be a team," the strategist said.
Although Mourinho criticized his players, he assured that he takes full responsibility for the defeat.
"I'm the coach, so I'm responsible for everything," he told "Sky Sports." "Especially for a bad result. I won't get up smiling in the morning, but I'll get to work to win in the Premier League. In the Champions League, we have a trip to Bucharest waiting for us. We have to earn points because we don't want to play in the Europa League."
