Fatigue catching up with Chelsea

LONDON – Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is wary of the effects of fatigue on his players when they return to Premiership action against Blackburn Saturday after their marathon League Cup defeat by Charlton midweek.

Charlton advanced to the fourth round at the expense of the holders by winning 5-4 on penalties after the tie ended 1-1 after extra time. But some of Mourinho’s side looked fatigued at the end of the two-hour contest and the Portuguese coach believes they will find it difficult against Rovers at Stamford Bridge, who have had an extra day to recover after despatching Leeds in the same competition on Tuesday night.”Players who play for two hours are tired,” Mourinho said.”Some of them played for 85 minutes and others for an hour, of course, they ran a lot.When matches go to extra time, the games are broken and there is a lot of space.That means you have to run even more.Skipper John Terry looked to have put Chelsea on course for another victory when he headed Arjen Robben’s corner home in the 41st minute.But defender Robert Huth then failed to head the ball back to Italian goalkeeper Cudicini on the stroke of half-time and Darren Bent nipped in to score his ninth of the season.Neither side could break the deadlock in extra-time and the tie was decided on penalties when Huth’s effort was saved by Charlton hero Stephan Andersen.- Nampa-ReutersBut some of Mourinho’s side looked fatigued at the end of the two-hour contest and the Portuguese coach believes they will find it difficult against Rovers at Stamford Bridge, who have had an extra day to recover after despatching Leeds in the same competition on Tuesday night.”Players who play for two hours are tired,” Mourinho said.”Some of them played for 85 minutes and others for an hour, of course, they ran a lot.When matches go to extra time, the games are broken and there is a lot of space.That means you have to run even more.Skipper John Terry looked to have put Chelsea on course for another victory when he headed Arjen Robben’s corner home in the 41st minute.But defender Robert Huth then failed to head the ball back to Italian goalkeeper Cudicini on the stroke of half-time and Darren Bent nipped in to score his ninth of the season.Neither side could break the deadlock in extra-time and the tie was decided on penalties when Huth’s effort was saved by Charlton hero Stephan Andersen.- Nampa-Reuters