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London strategist Jose Mourinho, after the 3-1 victory against Levski Sofia in the UEFA Champions League match in Bulgaria on Wednesday, was delighted with a great start in Europe.
"It was a very calm game, but we are still not playing as well as we should. But the most important thing is that we came home with three points," said the Portuguese coach.
"Still, we need to improve because in the last 15 minutes of the game we looked poor. We had to finish better, and with players like Arjen Robben and Salomon Kalou on the field, we should have scored more goals," added the strategist.
Mourinho did not spare praises for the Ivory Coast national team forward Didier Drogba, who scored a hat-trick, but added that Andriy Shevchenko will definitely keep his place in the starting lineup.
The young Nigerian star John Obi Mikel also received individual praise from the Portuguese. The 19-year-old started the match for the first time in the starting lineup of Chelsea on Wednesday.
"Mikel was simply fantastic," said the flamboyant coach. "When he has the ball, everything looks so simple. It's a pity he got a yellow card and I had to substitute him because I didn't want him to stay in the field with ten men."
Meanwhile, Levski coach Stanimir Stoilov admitted that there was a huge gap in level between his team and the English champions.
"Our level is lower, and we lack experience to compete with teams like Chelsea or Barcelona," said the Bulgarian, whose team lost 5-0 to a Spanish team in the first round. "They proved their superiority, while we made silly mistakes that cost us goals."
"Still, I am satisfied with the team's performance," the coach concluded. "The players, of course, are a bit disappointed because the best player was the fans, but we all rejoice in the first goal of our seventeen-year-old Mariyan Ognyanov playing for our club."
"Let's not forget that just reaching the group stage is a huge achievement," said the Bulgarian, whose team became the first Bulgarian team to qualify for this prestigious tournament.
