Mourinho praises midfielders

Cape Town - Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was full of praise for midfield duo Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas as his side strolled to a comfortable win over Aston Villa.

Chelsea v Aston Villa 

"They were fantastic in the way they moved the ball and their position when we didn't have the ball," said Mourinho on the club's website.

"They were always in a good position to try to stop Villa counter-attacking, because we know they have good fast players on the counter-attack, so the team played really well.

"Villa have won two matches away from home, scoring one goal [in each].

"If you want to win you have to have the ball but at the same time prevent the counter-attack from happening, keep a balance in the team. The way we positioned Matic and Fabregas we gave the team a good balance."

Mourinho did go on to mention a rather "unique" performance from Eden Hazard.

The Portugal boss singled out the winger after the match as the Belgian star had a day to forget.

"Eden Hazard started the season well, played good matches but had an isolated not good performance." added Mourinho.

"But no dramas and I’m not too worried about it.

"It was not his day."