Thiago Silva has accused José Mourinho of not showing “enough respect” to Paris Saint-Germain after his late equaliser helped knock Chelsea out of the Champions League last night.
Mourinho had attempted to belittle the French champions in his pre-match comments by suggesting that Chelsea worked harder in training than PSG did in their league games. The Chelsea manager also hit out at PSG’s physical approach in the first leg, which he likened to that of a Sky Bet League Two side.
However, his attempt at mind games backfired when Silva, who had earlier conceded a penalty that was converted by Eden Hazard, made amends by heading home late in extra time to earn ten-man PSG a 2-2 draw and see his side through on away goals.
“This does not feel like taking revenge, but Chelsea were not showing us the respect we deserve, Mourinho in particular,” Silva said.
“He said that he was happy to be paired with PSG because it was pretty close to London and that it was easy for the supporters to come over ... but I don’t think that’s the reason why he was happy with the draw. He said it was because they beat us last season.”
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Laurent Blanc’s men were eliminated from the competition last season by Chelsea on the away goals rule after Demba Ba scored late on.
They also played with ten men for 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge yesterday after Zlatan Ibrahimovic was controversially sent off in the first half.
PSG will not be able to overturn Ibrahimovic’s red card despite Mourinho calling on Uefa to cancel the dismissal. The governing body says referees’ decisions are viewed as final unless it is a case of mistake identity.
Silva believes the victory stands PSG in good stead to go all the way in the competition, adding: “It was incredible. I am very happy with my team. The Champions League is our goal. When we play like that, anything is possible. We can go very far.
“We have many quality players, very intelligent. They showed it when we played [with] one fewer. The quality of the team was there.”
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The 30-year-old Brazil defender was especially pleased with his 114th-minute effort and praised his side’s resilience after losing Ibrahimovic before the break.
“This goal is pretty amazing because just before scoring the header, [Thibaut] Courtois [the Chelsea goalkeeper] made a great save from a corner,” he said.
“I was very happy about the goal, but especially for the team because it rewards this great result which we managed with ten against 11.”
PSG will find out their quarter-final opponents when the Champions League draw takes place in Nyon on March 20.