Sunday 19 October 2014 14:36, UK
Jose Mourinho says Chelsea midfielder Oscar has ‘evolved’ into a player capable of controlling matches such as the one at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Brazilian scored an excellent free-kick after six minutes to put Chelsea on their way to a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park that was their seventh victory in eight Premier League games.
It was a different type of midfield performance to the ones with which Oscar made his name last season before the Blues’ title challenge tailed off towards the end of the campaign.
Mourinho now does not regard Oscar as simply a playmaker, and says his game is improving all the time.
"Oscar, in this moment, is not a number 10," the Blues boss said.
"He had an evolution, a mental, tactical evolution that allows him to be a fantastic player. Can he physically improve? Of course. People forget that he is still so young."
When Cesc Fabregas, who scored Chelsea's second, was the subject of close attention against Palace, it was Oscar who dropped deep to fill the Spaniard's role.
He had an evolution, a mental, tactical evolution that allows him to be a fantastic player. Can he physically improve? Of course. People forget that he is still so young
Mourinho added: "He's not a number 10 that plays with the ball at his feet, he's a number 10 that looks back, looks to the side, analyses the game and sees where the team needs him to move to get the ball and also to create balance.
"In the first half when they had (James) McArthur playing man to man with Fabregas, I was so happy with that.
"Fabregas was taking McArthur from the central area and Oscar was dropping back to play.
"And Oscar and (Nemanja) Matic controlled the game completely for us."
