Jose Mourinho: Only Tom Cruise could win title for Chelsea
Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea can still finish in the top four this season but winning the title is a job for Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise, says manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho's side beat Norwich 1-0 to win for the first time in four league games but are still 15th in the table.
"Fourth position for me is not an impossible mission. If you ask me about winning the the title, I would say impossible mission," said Mourinho.
"Maybe Tom Cruise can do it but it's complicated."
Chelsea are 12 points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal after 13 matches this season.
In the past five seasons, the teams finishing in fourth place - the final qualifying position for a place in the Champions League - have recorded an average of 72 points.
For Chelsea to reach that mark, they would need a further 58 points - or 19 wins and a draw from their remaining 25 matches.
| What does it take to finish fourth? | |
|---|---|
| 2014-15: Man Utd P38 W20 D10 L8 F62 A37 Pts 70 | 2012-13: Arsenal P38 W21 D10 L7 F72 A37 Pts 73 |
| 2013-14: Arsenal P38 W24 D7 L7 F68 A41 Pts 79 | 2011-12: Tottenham P38 W20 D9 L9 F66 A41 Pts 69 |
"You have to recover points from four candidates," said Mourinho.
"But one of the teams that go up may also have a little bit of a collapse. The fourth position is a difficult position but a possible target."
Chelsea's win over Norwich came thanks to Diego Costa's first goal in seven appearances, and Mourinho admitted the striker's lack of form had affected him.
The Spain international had scored 11 goals for the Blues by this time last year, but has managed just four this season.
Mourinho said: "You don't score goals, you get heavier. Every game that you don't score goals, you get 5kg more. You get heavy and the pressure is there.
"In the first half he missed two chances. The second one, in the last minute, is really a big one. So it was important for him.
"He's working well, he's a happy guy, he tries everything. He's positive, so if I had to choose somebody to score the winning goal, I would go exactly with him."