Chelsea finally click in Kiev as Mourinho delivers 'impish' aside

Dynamo Kiev 0 Chelsea 0

Chelsea may have left Kiev with a solitary point and no goals, but the Blues appeared to rediscover their equilibrium in a composed display typical of a Jose Mourinho team, and afterwards the manager also seemed back to his mischievous best as he touched on two of his favourite topics, referees and Arsene Wenger.

The game itself was little more than a "goalless scrap in a far-flung capital", says The Guardian, but Mourinho may come to view it as "the moment his team's faith and conviction were reaffirmed".

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With Eden Hazard and John Terry back in the fold "something clicked in Kiev", says the paper. "This was more like the effective Chelsea from the latter stages of last season, when attacking threat was allied to the required work-rate and defensive nous.

Chelsea were denied victory after referee Damir Skomina turned down a first half penalty appeal from Cesc Fabregas and Hazard and Willian both hit the woodwork.

The display of the referee gave Mourinho all the ammunition he needed after the game, when he took what the Daily Telegraph calls a "sarcastic swipe" at Arsenal boss Wenger.

First some context: Mourinho was furious last week when the FA charged him with misconduct for saying Premier League referees were "afraid" of giving decisions to his team, while his old rival Wenger went unpunished despite calling an official "weak" and "naive".

So it came as no surprise as those exact two adjectives were employed by the Chelsea boss to describe Skomina after the match. It was a "clear and, indeed, impish reference to Arsene Wenger" says The Times.

He also riffed on the controversy surrounding refereeing in the Rugby World Cup and Scotland's heartbreaking defeat to Australia on Sunday.

Mourinho began, as he often does, by insisting that he thought the referee had a good game, before making it clear that he did not.

"For example, in the Rugby World Cup, I think the referee [Craig Joubert] in the Scotland game was very good but made one mistake," said the Chelsea boss. "And that mistake cost Scotland their chance. When the result is 0-0 and such a penalty is not given, it's a crucial moment of the game."