Yesterday, Ivanovic nodded Chelsea into Wembley with his extra-time fantastic nodding to book Chelsea a place in Wembley, waiting for the arrival of either Tottenham or Sheffield United.
Here is the final whistle verdict as is being reported by the official website: chelseafc.com
'My view is that it was a big semi-final, two big games, this one was really big, with both teams at their limits and the result on the edge,' said the Portuguese. 'The result speaks for itself, 1-1 there, 0-0 here, extra time and one goal to decide.
'I always say to the players that during a game normally a difficult moment will arrive. That moment arrived in the first half and we coped with that. Liverpool were good, Liverpool were better than us, Liverpool were creating and we coped with that.
'We had to be intelligent and wait for the moment to be in control of the game. That came in the second half; we were dominant, created chances and should have scored. Mignolet was amazing. When we scored the goal in extra time the team showed me maturity, control. It's good for our improvement to play against a very good team and we did.that.
'Chelsea supporters were fantastic today, the victory is for them. Last weekend's defeat was ours, not the supporters.'
Mourinho gave his assessment of Diego Costa's tussle with Emre Can in the first half, and said he was particularly upset with comments made by a SKY television pundit who he refused to name
'I prefer not to speak about the penalty, I'll leave it with you because if I speak I will be in trouble and I don't want to be in trouble.
'What you call a 'stamp' and SKY call a 'crime', I have to say was completely accidental. He [ Diego Costa] goes to the ball, chases the ball and the opponent is on the floor. They have contact and he puts his foot there when he's looking to get the ball.
'These guys [pundits] have a very good seat, very good money, no pressure, they are always right, they never lose, they always win but they have to be fair and they have to be honest. But, forget it, let's go to Wembley.'
He couldn't have asked any more of his players in terms of their efforts
'They gave everything. Ivanovic's boot should be put in the lobby of the Academy, so the kids can see a boot completely full of blood. His foot with the big cut and lots of stitches cannot go there, but the boot, which is white, is full of red blood and should go to the Academy, but that's just one example. They gave absolutely everything.'
Kurt Zouma started alongside John Terryand Mourinho was impressed with the youngster's display
'He was very good. Playing against Sterling is something nobody enjoys, the kid is very good, very quick. Zoumacoped so well with that, Brendan brought on Balotelli and put Sterling on the sides. Zoumais very quick, fast and he's learnt positional play. Despite the fact he's 20, he's very mature. In the Premier League he hasn't started many matches but in the Capital One Cup he's played every game, also in the FA Cup. At this moment we have three central defenders and we are fine.'
The Blues boss said three of his players picked up injuries
'Branislav could finish the game, Fabregas and Filipe couldn't. Filipe was a calf problem, Fabregas was his hamstring. Everybody's happy, the group deserves it and we are happy to go to the final.'
Mourinho also had some words of praise for our opponents
'For me, Liverpool were very good. It's been great work by Brendan, he changed the team completely from the beginning of the season, things were not going well, he was intelligent, bright and changed the team. They are now at a top level and I think it's fair to say that they were very good over the two legs.'
After 120 minutes of football, he hopes fatigue won't be a problem, with Manchester City visiting the Bridge on Saturday
'I don't want to think about it; if we played two hours and lost I would be more worried. They are happy and when you are happy you can cope with fatigue.'
Congratulations to Chelsea!
LIKE n SHARE