No more horses, Man City are Jaguar in title race - Mourinho


Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho gestures during their English Premier League soccer match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, January 19, 2014. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

LONDON (Reuters) - Manchester City are still favourites to win the Premier League and are the "Jaguar" car in the title race, according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Despite watching his side move to the top of the table with a 3-0 home win over Newcastle United on Saturday, Mourinho said Chelsea's only aim was to qualify for the Champions League.

The Portugese manager also said it was time to stop comparing the race for the title to horses, instead opting for a car metaphor in which he inferred his team are still learner drivers.

"It's time to kill (talk of) the horses," Mourinho, who described his team as a "little horse" in the title race after beating City on Monday, told the BBC.

"Manchester City is a Jaguar. You cannot put an L-plate behind a Jaguar. We are what we are and we know where we want to go and this season we only have one objective, which is to finish top four."

Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool and City's 0-0 draw at Norwich City on Saturday left Chelsea a point clear at the top but Mourinho again played down his team's chances of being crowned Premier League champions for the first time since 2010.

"We are happy with what we are doing and at this moment in time we are top," he said. "That is great, but we want to play well and improve and that is it.

"I want to secure a Champions League position and the further we are from fifth place, then we can begin to think about other things. For now, my concern is increasing the gap between ourselves and fifth."

Chelsea host fifth-placed Everton on February 22 but first travel to West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Tuesday and visit Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday.

(Reporting By Sam Holden, editing by Ed Osmond)

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Others Also Read