josé mourinho was in ebullient mood as the defeat of his former club chelsea fc took fc internazionale milano into the quarter-finals in impressive fashion.
josé mourinho said he is "the happiest person on earth" after guiding fc internazionale milano into the uefa champions league quarter-finals at the expense of his former club, chelsea fc. although the inter coach believed the visitors were "the best team by far" throughout the 1-0 win at stamford bridge - secured by samuel eto'o's 78th-minute goal - mourinho urged caution by stressing that the "road to madrid is still long". counterpart carlo ancelotti admitted the nerazzurri were deserved winners because of the way they pressurised his players into mistakes.
josé mourinho, inter coach we were the best team, the best team by far. chelsea are a great team. we came here knowing the way they play very well. we controlled the game; every player performed at a high standard. to win here it must be almost a perfect performance, not just from the team but from every player. i learned we can beat anyone because chelsea are not just 'anyone', they are one of the best. we can win [at] anyone left in the champions league; we can do it.
i'm very happy with how my team accepted the risk i took because sometimes a coach takes a risk and the team doesn't answer to it. from the first minute we were the best team on the pitch against, i repeat, a great team. i was bit scared we missed so many chances because normally in these type of matches you don't get so many. i celebrated a lot in the dressing room because it's a big victory for us. i love chelsea, this stadium and these people but i am a professional and who knows i could come back here in the future as the manager of an english club. samuel eto'o scored against chelsea in the only game i lost at stamford bridge. tonight he did it again and this is one of the victories that make me happier. i am the happiest person on earth, but the road to madrid is still long.
samuel eto'o, inter striker
chelsea didn't expect us to start with three strikers. they expected a conservative team but josé wanted us to score that goal. my goal at the end is a relief because i've struggled since coming back from the african cup of nations. it is also a reward for team work.
carlo ancelotti, chelsea manager
we didn't play how we wanted to. inter put pressure on our midfielders so we had a lot of difficulty playing. inter played very well with a strong defence and were good on the counterattack but we didn't play how we wanted. we didn't give a good performance because inter put very strong pressure on us. usually we play in a different way. we played better in the first game in milan but we were not able to repeat the same display so inter deserved to win. congratulations to them.
