Basel: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accepted that he got his team selection badly wrong after his side were beaten 1-0 by Basel at the St Jakob-Park on Tuesday.
Mohamed Salah's solitary strike with three minutes remaining gave the Swiss champions their second win over the London club in this season's Champions League, although Chelsea still clinched their place in the last 16 thanks to Schalke's goalless draw with Steaua Bucharest in Romania.
That meant it was job done for Chelsea, who came to Switzerland with the aim of ensuring qualification with a game to spare in Group E, but Mourinho was unable to muster a smile after watching a substandard performance. "We don't go through because we got a result, we go through because Schalke did not get a result, and for me it's not the same," said the Portuguese.
"In the end, we qualified, which is our first objective, and now we have the last match at home to get the result to finish first," he added, with Chelsea knowing that a win at home against Steaua on December 11 will guarantee them top spot and secure, in theory, an easier draw in the next round.
Mourinho was quick to praise Murat Yakin's Basel side for their display - which followed a 2-1 victory in London in September - but he acknowledged that his decision to make just one change to the team after Saturday's 3-0 win at West Ham was wrong.
"I want to praise Basel. They won because we were sleeping in the last minute. But they won also because they were the best team and deserved to win," said the former Real Madrid boss, who dropped Eden Hazard for Willian. "I think from the first minute I was getting signs that my team was tired. My team paid the price today of the international week, where I was afraid of the reaction in the game against West Ham.
"Maybe because that game was so important for us, the whole team focused a lot, and everybody made a good individual and collective performance.
"Tonight we made a big mistake in the first second of the game, immediately. After that, we made mistakes defensively, we made mistakes with the ball, we lost easy passes, we lost every second ball, late decisions, people thinking late, and we finished with a ridiculous goal.
"It is not the kind of game where we are upset with the players, because I think I understood, and I maybe should have made more changes."
Chelsea begin a run of nine games in December with a home clash against Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday, and new faces will come into the side for that game.
'Now finish the job,' Wenger tells Arsenal
'Now finish the job,' Wenger tells Arsenal
London: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger urged his players to "finish the job" after they moved to within sight of the Champions League knockout phase with a 2-0 win over Marseille.
Jack Wilshere scored both goals at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to leave Wenger's side with 12 points from five games in Group F, but they are not yet assured of a berth in the last 16. They need to avoid defeat at Napoli in their final group game to be sure of going through, although the qualifying permutations mean that they could still progress even if they lose at Stadio San Paolo on December 11.
"It's unbelievable (not to have qualified with 12 points), but it's the reality and we have to finish the job," Wenger said. "It is not an easy situation. It's a tricky situation because you could think, 'OK, (the objective is) just not to lose big (to Napoli),' but I think that would be a mistake from ourselves.
"It is to put in our head to go there, play in a positive way and try to win the game, because everything else would be a dangerous gamble."
Wilshere opened the scoring after only 27 seconds -- the fastest goal in the Champions League this season -- and completed his brace in the 65th minute when he converted a low cross from Mesut Ozil. The England midfielder had previously scored only twice this season, and he said he was keen to add more goals to his repertoire.
Asked what his goals target for the campaign was, Wilshere told ITV: "At the start of the season I said 10 goals. I've never scored four in a season (before), so we'll see. I'm feeling good at the moment." Wenger praised the coolness of Wilshere's opening goal, which saw him cut inside a defender before curling a shot home, and suggested he should take inspiration from team-mate Aaron Ramsey, who has already found the net 11 times for the Premier League leaders this term.
"I like his first goal, because before he rushed a little bit," Wenger said. "He's starting to think, 'What Ramsey can do, I can do as well.' He's calm in front of goal; especially the first goal shows that."
Wenger was, however, critical of Ozil, who saw a 37th-minute penalty saved by Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda following a truncated run-up. "Everybody can miss a penalty, but I think his run on to the ball was a bit short. But it's the way he takes them," the Frenchman said.
He also expressed annoyance with midfielder Mathieu Flamini for cutting the sleeves on his shirt. It is an Arsenal tradition that players take to the field wearing shirts with sleeves of the same length, and with Flamini's team-mates having all-sported long-sleeve shirts, Wenger pledged to speak to the French midfielder about the matter.
"I don't like that and he will not do that again," he said. "I was surprised and we don't want that."
With Marseille having already been eliminated, coach Elie Baup used the opportunity to give some of his younger players a taste of the Champions League. Midfielders Mario Lemina, 20, and 21-year-old Giannelli Imbula both started the game and Baup said he hoped that they would learn from the experience.
"What I take from it is that for our squad, tonight (Tuesday) there were lots of young players who dipped their toes in this competition for the first or second time," he said. "We have to analyse all of that and show them how to progress from matches like tonight.
"There were lots of young players of 19 or 20 who have great talent, but who need to understand the demands of the high level in the Champions League."
