Mrs Benitez is confused, retorts Mourinho

ON TUESDAY, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho fired back at comments from the wife of Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez, who said her husband was "tidying up" Mourinho's "messes" once again.

Montserrat Seara told Le Region newspaper that her Spanish husband has had to clean up after Mourinho in three stops where he has followed the Portuguese coach: at Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid.

After Chelsea beat Barcelona 4-2 on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw in regular time, Mourinho noted that only for Inter did Benitez directly follow him into the job of guiding the squad.

"The lady is a bit confused," Mourinho said, drawing laughs from reporters but noting for himself: "I am not laughing." Mourinho, now in his second stint guiding Chelsea, said that when Benitez succeeded him at Inter, "in six months he destroyed the best team in Europe at the time".

Mourinho also had some advice for Ms Seara.

"She needs to occupy her time," he said. "If she takes care of her husband's diet, she will not have any time to talk about me."

Mourinho and Chelsea wrapped up their pre-season tour of the United States on a high note by beating the European champions.

Eden Hazard scored an exquisite opener for the English champions before the Spaniards hit back with two goals in the second half. Gary Cahill scored with a brave header late on to send the game into a shoot-out at FedEx Field in Washington.

"For a preparation match, it was fantastic for us," Mourinho told Fox Sports. "It was a good pre-season game for us, I think (for) both teams and also for the public. You know, it's a friendly, but when Barcelona face Chelsea, you want to win, it's not a friendly."

While European champions Barcelona do not start their La Liga title defence until Aug 23, time is of the essence for Chelsea, who face Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday before their Premier League opener against Swansea on Aug 8.

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