Football
9y

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho told Kurt Zouma 'to stay with Marouane Fellaini'

Chelsea's Kurt Zouma outlined the details behind the brief he was handed by his manager Jose Mourinho in last weekend's top-of-the-table clash against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Zouma was moved from his favoured defensive position into a role enforcing the Chelsea midfield as the Blues ground out a tense 1-0 win, with his success in nullifying the threat offered by United's most improved performer of recent weeks proving a mission he accomplished successfully.

"I had to stay with [Marouane] Fellaini because we knew he is on fire at the moment," Zouma said. "He has scored a lot of goals so I had to keep an eye on him and I think I did it well. I had to be physical with him and stay close to him.

"The game was very difficult. The most important thing was that we had one chance and we scored. We defended very well. Manchester United didn't have many chances to score. We stayed compact."

Mourinho was full of praise for his 20-year-old Frenchman after the game, as he suggested his versatility will make him a great asset for Chelsea over the course of the next decade.

"See the jobs he is doing for us, as a central defender playing against [Sergio] Aguero, as a central defender playing against [Raheem] Sterling," Mourinho reflected.

"Then he played as the holding midfield player against Tottenham [in the Capital One Cup final] in a system with only one holding midfield player.

"Against Man United he played to stop Fellaini from playing in the box. He is doing amazing jobs for us. He is mentally very, very strong, too. Not just physically, mentally he is very strong.

"He's learned a lot from a tactical point of view since his arrival. So we can imagine with him being aged 20, Chelsea has 10 years of Zouma."

Zouma went on to follow the Chelsea policy of not accepting they have won the title until they cross the finish line, with the youngster saying that minds are only focused on this weekend's game against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and not any imminent celebrations.

"We have as much confidence as normal but we are very focused on the next game," he added. "There is a long way to go and the season isn't finished. We have to keep going."

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