Mourinho dash had a real purpose

Jose Mourinho's touchline dash after Chelsea scored the goal that clinched their Champions League semifinal place on Tuesday was not done just because he wanted to celebrate with his players by the corner flag.

Although it evoked memories of his famous victory sprint and knee-slide with Porto against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2004, the coach explained he had something else in mind near the end of their 2-0 win over Paris St Germain.

The Portuguese leapt out of his technical area and sprinted away, punching the air with his right fist after Demba Ba's 87th minute stike levelled the aggregate score at 3-3 and saw Chelsea qualify on the away goals rule.

"I didn't go to the corner flag to celebrate, but you can see I can run," Mourinho told reporters at Stamford Bridge.

"I went to tell them the changes we had to make. There were three minutes plus added time left and the way we were playing was too risky.

"I wanted Demba Ba to play in front of the defenders and (fellow substitute striker) Fernando Torres to defend (PSG's) Maxwell. I tried to use them in different jobs."

It speaks volumes for Mourinho that he tried to get through to his men when they were screaming in delight and the noise from the delirious home fans was at its peak on an incredibly tense night.