Mourinho tastes victory in first match back with Chelsea... but no wonder he looks a bit confused with those names and numbers!

Posted Thursday, July 18, 2013 by Daylife.com

Here was a game won by Chelsea in the sticky heat of Bangkok with the awkward presence of Wayne Rooney hanging heavy in the air.

It takes something major to overshadow the second coming of the Special One, in charge of the Blues for the first time in 46 months, and this was major: a transfer swoop to lure England’s best player from the champions.

Minutes before the team kicked off against the Singha All Stars, Chelsea released a terse statement to confirm they had made a written bid to sign Rooney but that they had not offered any players to Manchester United as part of the package.

This extra detail was aimed at the reports that David Luiz and Juan Mata had been offered as bait; reports incidentally which United appeared to encourage, since they declined the opportunity to deny them.

Luiz and Mata remain part of the long-term plans at Stamford Bridge. At least, that is the message from inside the club but the two players are among six still on holiday after extended international duty at the Confederations Cup.

So, Jose Mourinho used 21 different players in the Rajamangala Stadium – it would have been more had Frank Lampard not aggravated an ankle injury during the warm-up and Josh McEachran not picked up a slight groin problem on the eve of the game – but three who were not even in the vicinity dominated proceedings.

Mourinho tastes victory in first match back with Chelsea... but no wonder he looks a bit confused with those names and numbers!

What has become clear after a few days of public posturing is that Chelsea do want Rooney, that Manchester United don’t (except as cover for Robin van Persie) and that the player wants to leave Old Trafford.

Mourinho already has a surplus of creative play-makers in the No 10 role. The manager addressed this conundrum on the eve of this friendly game as he explained his desire to play in a 4-2-3-1 system.

Six different players spent time in this position against the Singha All Stars as those asked to play behind the main striker switched positions.

Oscar and Mata are others who excel in this role. So it is safe to assume Rooney is not being pursued to perform it as well. He has been targeted primarily to operate as a No 9, a centre forward to lead the line and score goals.

Mourinho tastes victory in first match back with Chelsea... but no wonder he looks a bit confused with those names and numbers!

Fernando Torres is another of those absent from this tour but Romelu Lukaku and Demba Ba gave Mourinho a glimpse of what they can offer in a good work-out of a game dominated by Chelsea.

Lukaku produced a strong performance in the first half, holding up the ball, combining well with those around him, spinning clear of his markers and working the goalkeeper when chances came to him. He scored the opener from the penalty spot after Wallace had been fouled.

Ba came on among nine half-time changes. He was unable to match the energy or the work-rate of Lukaku, although he always manages to threaten the goal.

The game was won, which will satisfy Mourinho’s quest for the winning mentality, even if it was little more than a valuable training exercise. His team move south to Malaysia as the club consider their next move on Rooney.

Mourinho tastes victory in first match back with Chelsea... but no wonder he looks a bit confused with those names and numbers!