Sunday 8 February 2015 13:37, UK
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists the Premier League title race is far from over, even though his side beat Aston Villa to extend their lead in the table.
Branislav Ivanovic scored a stunning winner to give the Blues a 2-1 win at Villa Park, which saw them move seven points clear thanks to Manchester City’s draw at home to Hull.
But with 14 games to go the Blues boss insists there is plenty still to play for in such an unpredictable division.
"Seven points means seven points, we have 14 matches to go," said Mourinho. "We are speaking about 42 points to play for and in 42 we have a lead of seven. I think it's nothing.
"I would say in another league – done. In the Premier League, I would say far from done because the Premier League is the only league where any team can take points from the top teams.
"You go to other leagues and the teams from the second part of the table, they play the top teams and they lose, they lose easily with big results.
"We have 14 matches left and that’s a long way to go."
Mourinho also complemented the display from Aston Villa, who ended a run of six Premier League matches and almost 11 hours without scoring as Jores Okore netted early in the second half.
Paul Lambert’s men lie in 16th place - just two points out of the relegation zone - but the Chelsea manager, who won at Villa Park for the first time, is confident Villa will survive.
"A team with so many good players is not a team in trouble,” he added. “The teams in trouble are the ones without good players and Aston Villa’s is a squad filled with good players.
"They are a very good side, so for us to win here is very important – obviously it’s very difficult. The result says everything.
"I knew that they had a reaction and my players couldn’t cope. The good thing was that after that we had our reaction, we found our stability and we started going forwards.
"We went to try to win and, when we scored the second goal, after that I don’t remember a dangerous situation in our goal. We could control with stability."
