EPL: Mourinho in search of a deadly striker
striker with a "killer instinct" this summer.
Mourinho has not tried to disguise his
frustration with his striking options since
returning to Stamford Bridge last year.
He has been linked with a big-money swoop
for Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa this summer,
with Fernando Torres potentially returning to
his former club in part-exchange.
The 0-0 draw with Norwich on Sunday
summed up Mourinho's problem, with the
Blues dominating possession but failing to
break down a determined team struggling at
the wrong end of the table.
That result all-but ended Chelsea's chances
of winning the Premier League and Mourinho
says that to take that next step, he will need a
different kind of striker in his armoury.
"Against the teams that are more defensive,
more aggressive, more worried about trying to
keep a clean sheet than really to play, we
keep saying the same," Mourinho told Chelsea
TV.
"We have good players, but we don't have the
kind of striker able to, in a short space, to
make an action, to score a goal, to open the
gate.
"In these kind of matches you just need to
open the gate. When you open the gate, the
gate is open and you go on to win much more.
We weren't able to do that.
"We have to try to win as a team, to improve
as a team, but also add the attacking player
with that killer instinct and the number of
goals that push teams to different levels.
"It's something our club is going to try (to do),
respecting obviously that we have good
strikers."
Chelsea's record against their title rivals has
been excellent - they beat Manchester City
twice, Liverpool twice and took four points
from matches with Arsenal, Everton,
Tottenham and Manchester United.
But recent defeats to Aston Villa, Crystal
Palace, Sunderland and the draw with Norwich
appear to have blown their chances of
finishing the season on top.
"It's much more difficult to get results against
the big teams," Mourinho added.
"Mentally you have to be stronger, by the
strategic point of view you have to be stronger
too.
"When we have that amazing record against
the top teams, I think it's a fantastic
achievement and a good base to start next
season.
"If you forget the Sunderland festival, because
for me it was not a football game, it was a
festival, the (home) record was good.
"We lost six points at home, with three draws,
which is still a good record.
"The matches with the top teams the record is
really amazing, difficult to repeat next season
even if, like we expect, we are stronger."
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