Schurrle: Critics just jealous

Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle believes that those criticising their tactics are ‘just jealous’.

The Premier League side have been lambasted by the Press and opponents over the last week after they were accused of ‘parking the bus’ in their 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid and their 2-0 win over Liverpool.

But the Germany international insists that there are different ways to win games, ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg with Diego Simeone’s men.

“Winning is what matters. It's the most important thing,” he told the Guardian.

“You can play perfect football, have lots of one-touch stuff, and you lose. But that's not what you want – you want to win.

“There's no point in playing well and losing. If our plan is to win playing this way, and we win, then it is perfect. If people look at us and say 'Chelsea can't play', even when we win, it's just because they're jealous.

“We need to have a balance in our play, especially because we are at home. We need to win the game.

“Yes, if it's 0-0, it's extra-time and penalties, but if it's 1-1 or any other draw we're out, so we need to win. That means having the right balance, compact defensively but very good when we get the ball.

“I've learned so much from Mourinho and love being in his team and learning new roles. When I was in Germany I never played like this, so defensive – almost a left-back, but that is good for me because defensive work was something I missed in Germany.

“He said we needed to be perfect defensively and that is what I tried. We need to show we could be in a fight, a battle, and win it.

“If that means we have to be willing to do something that takes a yellow card, then we have to be ready to do that for each other and I'm happy to do that.”

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