Mourinho: Liverpool don’t have to give us champions’ guard of honour

Posted Monday, May 04, 2015 by squawka.com

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has told Liverpool not to feel duty-bound to form a guard of honour next weekend, as per the Mirror.

The Blues’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace yesterday ensured that they have captured the Premier League title with three games remaining.

The Mirror report there are no rules for guard of honours, with the Premier League happy for clubs to decide for themselves, and in recent seasons Chelsea and Manchester United have formed the guard of honour for each other, and Arsenal have for United as well.

For his part Brendan Rodgers has said that Liverpool will maintain the tradition by giving Chelsea the respect of champions, as per the Echo.

Mourinho on the other hand feels that players should be able to decide if they want to form one or not.

''I don’t like it,” he said, “I think, in Spain, they did it for us at Real Madrid.

''If it’s tradition, that’s no problem for me. But you can show respect for the winner in many different ways. If some of them don’t want to be there and they are there just because somebody tells them to be there, maybe it’s a bit artificial.”

The Blues beat Palace thanks to a scrappy goal from Eden Hazard. Chelsea’s number ten actually missed his penalty, but the Belgian superstar was alert to pounce on the rebound.

They currently have 83 points from 35 league games and sit 13 points clear of second placed Man City.

Chelsea have now won four Premier League titles, with three of them coming under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho.