"Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho: Premier League rivals 'are buying the title"

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says his Premier League rivals are now the ones attempting to buy their way to glory, a charge that used to levelled at the Blues.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says that the contenders for the Premier League title are trying to buy silverware.
The current Premier League champions brought in Asmir Begovic and Falcao this summer for minimal fees and have not spent more than £30 million on one player since signing Fernando Torres from Liverpool back in 2011.
The Blues have still spent significant cash on the likes of Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic in recent years, but Mourinho claims that others are now trying to mirror the kind of spending that he enjoyed when he first took over the club in 2004 and lavished over £150m on players like Didier Drogba, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Arjen Robben and Petr Cech.

"In the beginning of Mr Abramovich coming to Chelsea, Chelsea was buying the title," Mourinho said after the friendly win over PSG on Saturday. "Now, they are buying the title. All of them, they are buying the title.
"It is up to us to be strong and to fight them and, obviously, to try and win it again, even without the big investments."
Manchester City spent £49m alone on bringing in Raheem Sterling this summer, while Manchester United and Liverpool have also spent large amounts of money on improving their squads ahead of the new season.

Schweinsteiger joins Manchester United

The experienced German midfielder has ended his 17-year association with Bayern Munich, reuniting with old boss Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford in a £12 million deal

Bastian Schweinsteiger has completed his move to Manchester United from Bayern Munich, signing a three-year contract with the Red Devils.

The Germany international flew into Manchester over the weekend, underwent a medical on Sunday and has now penned personal terms to seal his £12 million move.

The transfer marks a reunion with former Bayern boss Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford, with the Dutchman having been the driving force behind a deal for a player he helped turn into one of the world's best central midfielders.

Van Gaal believes Schweinsteiger's experience will be invaluable to his squad, and will soon be able to partner the German alongside Morgan Schneiderlin after agreeing a deal with Southampton for the Frenchman.

The duo are likely to compete with Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind for places in United's starting XI next season, while more arrivals - including a centre-back and striker - are expected.

Schweinsteiger won eight Bundesliga titles and the Champions League with Bayern, also winning the World Cup last summer, and has insisted that he was only ever going to leave the Bundesliga giants for a move to United.

He told the club's official website: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bayern Munich, it has been an incredible journey and I didn’t take the decision to leave lightly.
"Manchester United is the only club that I would have left Munich for. I feel ready for this new and exciting challenge in what I regard as the most competitive league in the world and I am looking forward to working with Louis van Gaal again.

"I will never forget my time at Bayern Munich and I would like to thank everyone at the club and the fans for the great memories."

Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea: Van Persie snatches point at the death

Didier Drogba powered home a trademark header early in the second half but Branislav Ivanovic's red card gifted the hosts the chance to level in injury time in a dramatic finale.
Robin van Persie's last-gasp goal rescued a point for Manchester United as Louis van Gaal and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho shared a 1-1 draw.
The Portuguese looked to be heading for a famous victory against his one-time mentor at Barcelona after Didier Drogba's second-half strike had given Chelsea the lead.

But deep into injury time - and after Branislav Ivanovic had been sent off for a second bookable

The point means that Chelsea's lead at the Premier League summit is now four points over Southampton, while they are six points better off than Manchester City following the defending champions' 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

United, meanwhile, got back to winning ways after their lacklustre 2-2 draw against West Brom on Monday.

Marouane Fellaini was rewarded from his goalscoring appearance in that game with a start in midfield at the expense of Ander Herrera, while Chris Smalling replaced the injured Phil Jones at centre-back.

Diego Costa and Loic Remy missed out for Chelsea due to a virus and a groin problem respectively, meaning Drogba played as their attacking spearhead.

There was a full league debut for Filipe Luis as regular left-back Cesar Azpilicueta began a three-match suspension.

Van Persie led the United attack alone as suspension and injury deprived Van Gaal of Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao, and the Dutch striker had his first clear opening in the 23rd minute.

Adnan Januzaj's throughball was threaded through the Chelsea backline but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was out quickly to block Van Persie’s effort.

Marcos Rojo and Smalling were fortunate not to be penalised for wrestling John Terry and Ivanovic to the ground in the penalty area from a 36th-minute free-kick and Argentina international Rojo continued a shaky start when his error allowed Drogba to test David de Gea.

Playing against his former club, Juan Mata was afforded plenty of room when Angel Di Maria slid a free-kick towards him in first-half stoppage time, but the Spain playmaker shot woefully off target.

Fellaini fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box under pressure at the start of the second half, but Chelsea found the opening goal in the 53rd minute.

After Eden Hazard had cut in from the left flank and exchanged passes with Drogba to draw a superb save from De Gea, the veteran striker escaped Rafael Da Silva's attentions at the near post to head home the resulting set-piece. 

Right-back Ivanovic again made his presence felt in the United area with a storming 69th-minute run but pulled his shot wide from an acute angle.

Courtois denied Van Persie with his legs in the 79th minute but the same player gave the Old Trafford faithful a timely reminder of the late drama of the Alex Ferguson years by levelling the match deep into stoppage time.

Ivanovic earned his red card for bringing down Di Maria, who picked himself up to deliver an excellent free-kick.

Courtois saved well from Fellaini’s header initially, although he was helpless as Van Persie slammed home the rebound to send Van Gaal's men into next weekend's derby against City in high spirits.


offence - Van Persie pounced on a half-cleared free-kick to smash home an equaliser.

Manchester United v Chelsea: Mourinho no plans to change!

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says the Premier League leaders will look to maintain their positive start to the season at Manchester United on Sunday.

Mourinho famously played without a recognised striker as Chelsea ground out a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford three games into last season.
 But after seven wins in eight games, Mourinho is happy with his tactics.
"We are confident. We are in a good situation and there is no reason for us to change our feeling," he said.  "We try for the best result as always.

"We try to play as good as we are playing and we are always trying to play, respecting an opponent that is one of the best and most difficult in the Premier League."  Chelsea's impressive start to the season has taken them 10 points clear of United, who have struggled to build any sustained momentum under Louis van Gaal.

The Dutchman will be looking to narrow that gap and get the better of Mourinho, who previously worked under him at Barcelona - Mourinho's Inter Milan beat Van Gaal's Bayern Munich 2-0 in the 2010 Champions League final, their only previous meeting.

Van Gaal expects Argentina international Angel Di Maria - who played under Mourinho at Real Madrid - to be fit after picking up a thigh injury in Monday's 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
 Striker Radamel Falcao could also start after being among the substitutes at the Hawthorns, but Mourinho - who may have top scorer Diego Costa available after injury and illness - claims not to be concerned about United's line-up.

"We are very confident about ourselves. I'm not interested in thinking which team Man United play, who is playing, who is not playing.

"We are playing well, we are confident, we are top of the league, we are in a good position.
"The camp is happy and we are ready for the game."

Manchester United-Chelsea Preview: Costa battling to be fit for Old Trafford encounter

The Brazilian-born Spaniard returned from international duty nursing a groin problem and has also been hospitalised with a virus but still might feature on Sunday.
Diego Costa is battling to be fit in time to help Chelsea to try to maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Costa returned from international duty with Spain nursing a groin problem and has also been hospitalised with a virus this week, though boss Jose Mourinho suggested on Friday that his star striker has a "little chance" of featuring against United.

And Louis van Gaal, whose Red Devils lie sixth after a decidedly mixed start to the season, would not be surprised to see Costa's name on the Chelsea team sheet on Sunday afternoon.

"I think that Jose shall play with him when he can because he wants to win," the Dutchman told reporters.

"Of course he can play, maybe, because he has trained individually. I have heard and read on the websites. I also have my eyes always open.

"He's scored nine [goals] out of seven [games] - that is remarkable so he's in good shape, I think, but he was ill [on Thursday] so you never know."

Chelsea hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after claiming seven wins and a draw from their fine start to the season. United sit 10 points behind, having already tasted defeat against Swansea City and Leicester City, and Van Gaal acknowledges that his side face a stiff challenge on Sunday.

"Chelsea are one of the top teams, I think also Manchester City are at the moment," he added.

"Jose has worked more than one year already with his team and last year they didn't win any prizes so you have to build up and he has built up Chelsea. They are playing like a team and I want my team to do that as well but to play for 90 minutes.

"We did that against West Brom [on Monday in a 2-2 draw], played as a team, but we also made individual errors. That was our problem."

United will again be without captain Wayne Rooney as he completes a three-game suspension, while Michael Carrick (ankle) remains short of match fitness, though talisman Angel Di Maria has been passed fit following a thigh injury scare.

Loic Remy has been ruled out for Chelsea after picking up a groin injury in a midweek Champions League rout of Maribor, leaving veteran Didier Drogba the likely man to lead the line from the start, though Andre Schurrle is also back in the squad.

Mourinho was content to play it safe when settling for a goalless draw at Old Trafford early last season but insists that he wants a win this time around.

"We are playing well, we are confident, we are top of the league and we are in a good position to qualify in the Champions League," he declared to reporters. "The camp is happy and we are ready for the game.

"We go to every match to win but sometimes during a game a point is a positive point and a positive result. Last year, at a certain moment the game was very difficult to win and I think both teams accepted the point as a normal result.

"On Sunday we go to win. If you give me one point now - and we don't have to play the game - I will not accept it. I want to fight for the three points."