Sunday 18 January 2015 13:33, UK
Jose Mourinho admitted he didn't expect Chelsea to win so comfortably after their 5-0 defeat of Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
The visitors raced into a four-goal half-time lead after Oscar, who opened the scoring within a minute, and Diego Costa notched two goals each. Andre Schurrle added a late fifth.
But Mourinho was surprised to witness his side's ease after claiming Swansea are a classier outfit than their mid-table status in the Premier League suggests.
He said: "It was very good, we were solid, we were recovering the ball in good positions, we were dangerous in counter-attacks, the decisions made in front of the ball were always the best decisions. We hit the post twice, we could have finished with even more. I am happy with the points and the quality of our football.
"Swansea are top 10 but maybe top five in the quality of their football. 5-0 is unexpected for us but everything went in our direction.
"I told them to play seriously, to have the same kind of behaviour that you have if the result is still open.
"That’s the best way to respect ourselves, our opponents, and football. That’s what we did and they did the same, they knew it was impossible to win the game but they fought for a different result. They were much more compact and solid."
The Chelsea boss also offered words of encouragement to his opposite number Garry Monk, and backed Swansea to quickly recover from their drubbing.
"We learn with every experience, when we win and when we lose, when great things happen and when difficult moments arrive," he said.
"There are matches that are out of our control and we, as managers, can’t do much.
"These are not my words but words from somebody else: ‘It’s better to lose one match 5-0 than five matches 5-0'. So after this defeat they will react and get the points they deserve."
