WILLIAN
Having missed Chelsea’s win over Leicester City while on
compassionate leave, Willian was back on Sunday, but was picked to start only
on the bench and Chelsea rolled with an unchanged lineup. He was introduced as
a late substitute, helping to see out a commanding 4-0 win over Jose Mourinho’s
Manchester United.
Speaking with ESPN Brasil afterwards, Willian thanked his teammates
and the fans for the outpouring of support in this difficult personal moment
for him.
"Yes,
I had the opportunity to follow [the homages]. I'm quite happy for the homages
everyone has made for me, from the players, the supporters and everyone else
involved with the club."
"And now the road continues. It is a difficult moment [of my life]
but we have to keep our heads up and know that God has a purpose for
everything."
From his vantage point on the bench, Willian had a front row
seat to Chelsea’s fantastic performance, one of the best in recent years.
"Undoubtedly, I think we had a great game. From the
beginning of the match, with 33 seconds of play we opened the score. I think
the team pressed well and we had good possession of the ball.
Without the ball
the team knew how to defend and we took the most of the opportunities [during
the game]."
One of the biggest talking points from the game was
Mourinho’s reaction to Conte’s gesturing to the home crowd. Mourinho claimed
that he felt "humiliated" by
the Chelsea manager, because of course everything is always about him.
"I
think it's a part of the game. [Antonio] Conte was in his own right [to rile up
the crowd]. We were winning the match and the supporters were quiet at the
moment, as we exchanged passes at the end of the match. He asked the crowd to
cheer the team on, and these are normal things within football."
"Of course, [José] Mourinho was a great manager at Chelsea, and I
had the opportunity to work with him. Nevertheless, it's football, right? We
have to fulfill our duty, and that is to win the game."
Willian’s place in the starting lineup has been taken by
Pedro these last two games and it will be interesting to see if that continues
next weekend against Southampton. In the meantime, we have a game against West
Ham in the League Cup on Wednesday.
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