José Mourinho considers Arsenal to be rivals in a three-way title race, but only if they retain the form demonstrated against West Ham United last Saturday rather than that exposed in the recent defeat to Monaco in the Champions League.
Chelsea passed up a chance to move eight points clear of Manchester City, and nine ahead of Arsène Wenger’s side, by drawing 1-1 with Southampton after Dusan Tadic’s disputed penalty cancelled out Diego Costa’s first goal in two months. Arsenal have won eight of their previous nine league games and host Chelsea on 26 April, with Mourinho stressing the title race is far from over.
Asked if he considered teams other than Manchester City to be in contention for the title, the Chelsea manager said: “Of course [Arsenal are] as they are seven points behind, even if they have one less match to play than Chelsea. I keep thinking our opposition is better than theirs [over the run-in], but I think both teams are in the race.” Whether Arsenal might represent a greater threat than City, given their recent surge of form, he added: “Which momentum? The 3-1 against Monaco or the 3-0 against West Ham? It depends on the momentum.”
Mourinho initially suggested he would not comment upon Mike Dean’s decision to award Southampton a penalty, the official showing Nemanja Matic a yellow card for what he considered to be a foul on Sadio Mané. The clearer contact actually appeared to be Branislav Ivanovic’s push on the Southampton player. Yet the manager revisited the incident when explaining his subsequent decision to substitute Matic, the Serb having escaped a second yellow card for a trip on the same player in the opening exchanges of the second period.
“When that penalty is given you have to believe that the second yellow could come,” he said. “With fast players like Mané coming out of midfield, driving the ball, that could happen. If you remember Ramires’s red card against Aston Villa last season, obviously you are afraid of it.
“I went to Sky and they told me that their pundits said it was a penalty. I went to the BBC and they said it wasn’t a penalty. I went to the radio and they said it wasn’t. Now I come here and I think I understand you’re saying it’s not a penalty. There are different perspectives. But what is important is Mr Mike Dean, and his decision was a penalty.”
The Southampton manager, Ronald Koeman, said: “In the second half there was a foul [Matic on Mané] that maybe could be a yellow card, which would have been his second one. But I’m not supporting referees showing eight, nine, 10 yellows every game. You need to be straight in every situation, and that’s very difficult. The referee did a great job today.”The home side’s own appeal for a spot-kick, when Tadic clipped Ivanovic, was waved away. Asked if he thought his side would benefit from a penalty award again this season, Mourinho said: “It’s a question. It’s a question. It’s a question.”
