Mourinho: Liverpool have special player & very good manager

Jose Mourinho has described title rivals Liverpool as a team with a “special player in attack” and a very good manager in the shape of Brendan Rodgers.

The Chelsea boss was asked to give his assessment of the Reds’s title chances and whether the 18-time English champions can cope with the pressure of being the Premier League leaders.

We don’t depend on us, we depend on others. I keep saying that for a long, long time

Jose Mourinho

Mourinho replied: “They are a good team with a special player in attack with a very good manager. They have a privileged position of playing only one match per week. That’s all I can say.

“Their ambitions and responsibilities, I think Brendan is the one to answer [those questions] for you.”

Mourinho’s Chelsea are in second place and two points behind Liverpool following a surprise 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace last weekend.

The 51-year-old underlined the west London club’s desire to win their final six top-flight games of the season but conceded that the Blues are dependent on other results.

“We will try to win the matches we have,” Mourinho continued. “We don’t depend on us, we depend on others. I’ve been saying that for a long, long time.

“We were never, never once in a position with same the number of points and same number of matches and top of the league.

“After we had that beautiful match against Aston Villa and defeat by Palace, it put us in a position where we depend a lot on other results.”

Liverpool have scored 88 goals in 32 Premier League games this season, which is 28 strikes more than their west London rivals.

But Mourinho played down the significance of Liverpool’s impressive strike rate, pointing to his side’s defensive performances.

“What I like is the fact with such a difference in goals, the difference in points is not so big,” he added.

“We have two points less than Liverpool and you are speaking a huge difference of goals that they have scored.

“So probably we have a huge difference of goals that we concede and they concede. We are there.”