Juan Mata praises Benitez as Chelsea ready themselves for Europa League

A day after Jose Mourino took the stage at his press conference to more or less confirm he is leaving Madrid, Chelsea held their training session followed by their own press conference ahead of the Europa League semifinal second leg against FC Basel at Stamford Bridge.

In light of the heightened speculation surrounding a possible return for “The Special One”, it was clear questions would be asked of Benitez to his reaction. Keen to avoid speaking of Mourinho, it was left to Juan Mata to pay tribute to the work of Rafa Benitez at Chelsea since he took over from Roberto Di Matteo back in November.

Sitting in third place in the Premier League and 90 minutes away from their third European final in six seasons, Mata was quick to defend his Spanish counterpart. He said:

“Rafa’s a manager who did great seasons at every club he’s been at. We’re working really, really well under him. For me and the players, he’s a great manager. We are trying to be in third position and having a chance to win a trophy, so maybe the season in the end will look good for us and that will be because of his job. Maybe it’ll be a great season in the end.”