Chelsea had done well to stifle the Liverpool marksman before the flash
point in the final stages of their absorbing 2-1 victory at Stamford
Bridge on Sunday that left Mourinho and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers
in firm disagreement.
Trailing
after goals by Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto'o following Martin Skrtel's
early strike, Suarez set off after Chelsea fullback Cesar Azpilicueta
only for Eto'o to block his run, leaving the Uruguayan on the floor
appealing in vain to referee Howard Webb.
"The player is amazing and I love his quality, commitment and ambition
to play," Mourinho told British media of Premier League top scorer
Suarez, banned for 10 games after biting Chelsea defender Branislav
Ivanovic in a game last April.
"But when you are losing, the nature comes out of the player. The wild
nature, the cultural nature of the player. Culturally, people from that
area, they like it. Not just that area. There's a corner in Europe,
where I belong too, where they like that too.
"One of the things we have good in this country is we don't like
simulation. It's not good for our game. Azpilicueta had the ball, he was
leaving the box, and now Suarez is doing an acrobatic swimming pool
jump to try and get the penalty because he's so clever he knows he's in
the penalty area right in front of the Liverpool supporters.
"I hate players who try to provoke situations, and he tries too much to
provoke these situations. Suarez lost that duel with Azpilicueta, Eto'o
comes in and it looks like somebody shot him in the back. Webb is 10
meters away and the only mistake he made was not giving him a yellow
card."
Cameroon striker Eto'o
was at the center of a number of incidents in the intense clash before
he toe-poked home his third league goal of the season that helped
Chelsea to a 2-1 win to stay within two points of league leaders
Arsenal.
As well as the
Suarez penalty claims, Eto'o was guilty of a poor challenge on Jordan
Henderson that resulted in the free-kick from which Skrtel put Liverpool
ahead in the third minute.
"Let's talk about the first Eto'o incident when he should have been
sent off," said Rodgers, who previously worked with Mourinho at Chelsea
during the Portuguese's first spell in charge.
"I know we scored from the free kick, but that was a wild shank where
he's come down his knee and shin and didn't even get a yellow card.
"That's the first wild challenge. On the second one, Luis will always
provoke a challenge from defenders in the box. That's why he's world
class.
"What he wouldn't
expect is it coming from somebody off the ball. He blocks him. That
could have been a penalty on another day as obstruction in the area. But
he (Mourinho) will defend his players. I will defend mine."
The Northern Irishman said he "didn't like" his Brazilian playmaker
Philippe Coutinho and defender Mamadou Sakho swapping shirts at the end
of the first half with Chelsea duo Oscar and Eto'o and he would speak
with them.
That conversation
appears to be the least of Sakho's worries after the tall Frenchman
limped away with a hamstring problem near the end of the costly match
for the visitors, who also lost Joe Allen to injury.
Rodgers, whose side slipped to fifth and six points back of leaders
Arsenal, said reinforcements were required in the January transfer
window for his injury-hit side who are also without captain Steven
Gerrard and striker Daniel Sturridge.
"We've shown that if we get the players back, and get some help in
January, we'll be in the shake-up. If we can add to it and get some
depth, that'll really help you in the second half of the season when you
need it.
"It's still open.
I'm looking forward to the fact we still have to play every big team
apart from Manchester United at home, and Anfield's now a tough place to
come.
"Christmas day, eating our turkey, we were top of the league. A few days later we're fifth. But it makes it really exciting."
(Writing by Patrick Johnston)/Yahoo/Reuters
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