After our 4-2 defeat to New York Red Bulls, Mourinho spoke to the media and expressed it was a productive match for his squad.
Mourinho didn’t hide the fact that he feels it was a disappointing performance but he was happy that the players had a good workout and have taken a ‘step towards’ the fitness levels we need for the start of the season.
They gave us a good training session. If we came here and won 10-0 I would not be happy because it would mean it was too easy. We needed the game they gave us.
“Obviously we needed to play better than we did in the second half defensively, and there were also too many missed chances, but the intention of pre-season matches is to play, to run, to bring intensity back, so no problem. We are a top team, we have top players. We only started training six days ago.”
Mourinho gave 45 minutes to both Victor Moses and Bertrand Traore. He then spoke about both players and confirmed Bertrand Traore will spend next season at Chelsea.
He’s 19, he’s a kid. He was in Africa, then Vitesse, and now he’s at Chelsea. He’s not going on loan. We want to keep him and improve him. With the ball he has a lot of talent. Sometimes he didn’t always make the best decisions, but this is absolutely normal. He’s a good kid, a good talent, and I repeat he’s not going on loan.
“Victor is strong, he’s experienced and he knows the Premier League well. He’s fast and aggressive. Okay, he has to learn how to play with us but I’m happy with his week and his 45 minutes. Let’s see what happens but Victor had an evolution in the last couple of years.”
Mourinho finally defended both goalkeepers by stating they were tired due to the tough training. He also confirmed Begovic will start our next friendly against PSG on Saturday.
He [Begovic] was very tired, the same as Courtois. When the goalkeepers are very tired the coordination is low, the agility doesn’t exist, and the speed of reaction doesn’t exist. Courtois made a mistake in the first half with the ball at his feet.
“Begovic in the second half was not sharp in his reactions but it’s a consequence of being tired from training. I’m so happy to have him and in the next game against PSG he will start. He will play the first half. There’s no problem, it’s just a process.”
