Jose Mourinho has challenged Juan Mata to ‘prove him wrong’ after the out-of-favour Spaniard was completely omitted from his matchday squad for yesterday’s 2-0 win over Fulham.Fans’ favourite Mata, one of the Blues’ star performers last term, has barely featured under Mourinho this season and yesterday’s snub was further proof that the World Cup winner is currently not held in high esteem by the Portuguese.
And as bafflement grows over Mourinho’s issues with Mata, he said of the playmaker’s exclusion: ‘I hope he tells me on the pitch “you are wrong, I’m the best and I have to play every game”.
‘I would love that. I’m waiting for a professional reaction. I want him to be fantastic. I hope he can.
‘I gave Juan the chance to play from the beginning against Aston Villa, from the beginning against Everton, 30, 35 minutes against Basle.
‘The past is the past, what matters is now. You have to be judged for what you do now.
‘I have my options, but the thing that I most love in football is when the players prove that I’m wrong.’
Second-half goals from Oscar and John Obi Mikel sent Chelsea top of the Premier League despite Mourinho presiding over the Blues’ worst Premier League start for 10 years.
He added: ‘The important thing is not to be top, the important thing is to be there.
‘Where is Man U? Where is Man City? Where is Tottenham? Where is Arsenal? Where is Liverpool?
‘If they are a long way (ahead) it’s a problem, if we are there, it’s important.
‘And some of them, they start the Premier League in a brilliant way, we start in a very bad way.
‘If we start in a very bad way and they start in a brilliant way, it’s good for us.’
Next up for Chelsea is Tuesday’s Capital One Cup tie at Swindon with Mata and David Luiz, who was also dropped for yesterday’s match, both expected to return.
