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Jose Mourinho has praised Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini for his performances at Euro 2020 and his cynical foul on Bukayo Saka in the final.
Chiellini was at the heart of the victorious Italy defence against England alongside Juventus star Leonardo Bonucci, who only allowed England to have two shots on target throughout normal playing time and extra time.  In the remaining minutes of additional time on Sunday night as the scores were level at 1-1, Chiellini uncharacteristically allowed Saka to dribble beyond him with a potential route towards goal. Even though there were Italian defenders seemingly covering for the Juventus legend, Chiellini pulled the Arsenal forward’s shirt, bringing the player to the ground and received a yellow card for his actions.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s final, England fans have been outraged that the referee did not award Chiellini with a red card. One fan even started a petition, which has received over 120,000 signatures, asking for the game to be replayed as it was deemed “not fair at all.”  nstead, Mourinho has since admired Chiellini’s decision-making and told talkSPORT: “What Chiellini did with Saka shows everything.
“He made his only mistake of the game, he lost the turn on the touchline. Saka was going… ‘You are not going, you stay with me, the shirt is mine and you are not going.’ “He knows what he is doing. This is a top defender and a very clever guy.  “I played Juventus with Manchester United a couple of seasons ago, and after the game at Old Trafford, I said something like: ‘These two guys should go to University of Sports and give lectures on how to be a central defender.’
“Even a couple of years later, they are still capable of doing this. “Probably Chiellini is not capable of doing it every three days, sometimes he needs a rest, sometimes he has a little injury as it happened at the beginning of the competition, but they are both prepared to be at the highest level.” Featured Image Credit: PA/talkSPORT |