Jose Mourinho maintains Chelsea can still finish in the Premier League top four after acknowledging Diego Costa’s scoreless streak had weighed heavily on the striker.
The Chelsea manager conceded the champions’ title defence was over after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday, just a fourth win from 13 games this season, but he reckons Uefa Champions League qualification for next season is achievable.
“It’s a bit of a relief,” Mourinho said after Costa’s first goal since the win over Aston Villa last month ended a three-match losing streak.
“The pressure was there – I was feeling, the players were feeling, too.
“We coped well with that and we got a result which obviously we needed very, very much.”
Chelsea are 12 points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal and, while Mourinho conceded that the task facing his side could be compared to that of a popular movie franchise, he stated it was attainable.
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“Fourth position for me is not an impossible mission. If you ask me the title I would say impossible mission,” he said.
“Maybe Tom Cruise can do it, [but] it’s complicated because you have to recover points from four candidates.
“But to grab one of the [teams] that go up and will also have a little bit of a collapse ... the fourth position is a difficult position but a possible target.”
Costa conceded earlier this season to reporting for pre-season overweight, and the striker, who was prolific last term in Chelsea’s title triumph, had scored just three times prior to the international break.
The Brazil-born Spain striker had spurned two good opportunities and been absent in the six-yard box when Eden Hazard fashioned two more before pouncing following Cesc Fabregas’s quick free-kick in the 64th minute.
“You don’t score goals, you get heavier,” Mourinho said of his forward. “Every game that you don’t score goals, you get 5kg more. You get heavy and the pressure is there.
“In the first half he missed two chances. The second one, in the last minute, is really a big one.
“So it was important for him. Important for us, the result and the goal, but I think also for him.
“He’s working well, he’s a happy guy, he tries everything. He’s positive, so if I had to choose somebody to score the winning goal, I would go exactly with him.”
Costa’s fluency was not what it should be, and Mourinho said he had to remind his striker to return to position quickly moments prior to the goal.
“When you lose confidence, you lose this fluent game. Yes, he can do much better, but again, yes, one goal is very important,” Mourinho said. “I was telling him that he was being caught offside a couple of times, also in the first half, because he was late to recover position.
“When the team tries to reach that, he needs to be in a position to attack that, not in an offside position.
“The goal was a little bit like that because he was in a position that he could attack space and not in a space offside.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
Why the Tourist Club?
Originally, The Club (which many people chose to call the “British Club”) was the only place where one could use the beach with changing rooms and a shower, and get refreshments.
In the early 1970s, the Government of Abu Dhabi wanted to give more people a place to get together on the beach, with some facilities for children. The place chosen was where the annual boat race was held, which Sheikh Zayed always attended and which brought crowds of locals and expatriates to the stretch of beach to the left of Le Méridien and the Marina.
It started with a round two-storey building, erected in about two weeks by Orient Contracting for Sheikh Zayed to use at one these races. Soon many facilities were planned and built, and members were invited to join.
Why it was called “Nadi Al Siyahi” is beyond me. But it is likely that one wanted to convey the idea that this was open to all comers. Because there was no danger of encountering alcohol on the premises, unlike at The Club, it was a place in particular for the many Arab expatriate civil servants to join. Initially the fees were very low and membership was offered free to many people, too.
Eventually there was a skating rink, bowling and many other amusements.
Frauke Heard-Bey is a historian and has lived in Abu Dhabi since 1968.
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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