José Mourinho claimed Cesc Fábregas was misused by Barcelona and
hailed his impressive Chelsea debut as confirmation of why the former
Arsenal captain was his first choice midfield target this summer.
The £30m signing shone on his first Premier League start for Chelsea as Burnley were beaten 3-1 at Turf Moor with goals from his fellow debutant Diego Costa, Andre Schürrle and Branislav Ivanovic. Mourinho also gave a first Premier League start to the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at the expense of Petr Cech but denied the selection would lead to the 32-year-old’s departure from Stamford Bridge.
Burnley had taken an early lead through Scott Arfield but, with Fábregas involved in all three Chelsea goals, including an exquisite pass for Schürrle’s second, Mourinho insisted the midfielder would give his team a new dimension this season.
“The team played very well but I agree with Cesc being man of the match because he and [Nemanja] Matic controlled the game and dictated the intensity of it,” said the Chelsea manager. “They decided how to control the pace. They were both good brains in this team and I am happy with that because last season we could not control the game as we controlled [it] today.”
Asked how he felt at the arrival of Fábregas, Mourinho added: “When the players are your first choice it is very difficult to make a mistake. Fábregas was our first choice for that position. I know clearly what the player is because we were so long in the same league.
The £30m signing shone on his first Premier League start for Chelsea as Burnley were beaten 3-1 at Turf Moor with goals from his fellow debutant Diego Costa, Andre Schürrle and Branislav Ivanovic. Mourinho also gave a first Premier League start to the goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois at the expense of Petr Cech but denied the selection would lead to the 32-year-old’s departure from Stamford Bridge.
Burnley had taken an early lead through Scott Arfield but, with Fábregas involved in all three Chelsea goals, including an exquisite pass for Schürrle’s second, Mourinho insisted the midfielder would give his team a new dimension this season.
“The team played very well but I agree with Cesc being man of the match because he and [Nemanja] Matic controlled the game and dictated the intensity of it,” said the Chelsea manager. “They decided how to control the pace. They were both good brains in this team and I am happy with that because last season we could not control the game as we controlled [it] today.”
Asked how he felt at the arrival of Fábregas, Mourinho added: “When the players are your first choice it is very difficult to make a mistake. Fábregas was our first choice for that position. I know clearly what the player is because we were so long in the same league.
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