Don't forget... there's Chelsea

Jose Mourinho has something to prove at Chelsea That assertion might strike some as bizarre given the sheer magnitude of his achievements in the past decade especially at Stamford Bridge After all he was the one who ended a wait of 50 years for the league title and who finished his first season with the Blues 200405 with a record 95 pointsThe title was won again the following year and though Manchester United sneaked past to prevent a hattrick there was the consolation of the FA Cup and the League Cup Then the rift with Roman Abramovich that led to a spell albeit wildly successful in the wildernessChelseas Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho embraces Chelseas Brazilian midfielder Willian on the touchline in the final minutes of the UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg football match against Paris SaintGermain on April 8 PicGetty ImagesMourinho has won league championships in four countries So have others But no one else has ever done it in the three biggest leagues ndash the Premiership La Liga andSerie AWhile at Internazionale he also became the first manager to lead an Italian team to the treble of league cup and Champions League No one else in the game has a CV to match his Yet in his second avatar at Chelsea he knows the resume is not complete As successful as he was in building Chelsea up to be a huge force ndash this will be their seventh Champions League semifinal in 11 seasons ndash he has never won the trophy with his beloved Blues Twice in that first stint he went as far as the semifinals Both times Liverpool and Rafael Benitez ndash and most notably the Anfield crowd ndash thwarted the Chelsea dreamWhen Londonrsquos painful drought in club footballrsquos most prestigious competition finally ended in 2012 as Didier Drogbarsquos heroics denied a superior Bayern Munich side it was Roberto Di Matteo at the helm and not the Special One Donrsquot think for a minute that Mourinho isnrsquot aware of thatThere is a sense of destiny about this Chelsea side That was never more apparent than in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Paris St Germain The Parisians are in many ways the new Chelsea Their Qatari owners have very deep pockets and theyrsquore prepared to do whatever it takes to take the club to the summit of European football Though Laurent Blanc was without Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Stamford Bridge he could still call on the services of Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani both of who would walk into most Premier League starting XIs A couple of hours before kickoff I was chatting to an Arsenalsupporting cab driver in LondonHaving seen his team eviscerated 60 by Chelsearsquos power and pace not so long ago he wasnrsquot really in the mood to support the only English club left in the competition We also agreed that a 31 deficit was too large a chasm to bridge even for a team managed by Mourinho ldquoI canrsquot wait to hear what excuses he comes up with when they go outrdquo he said Sadly for him his wait will continue at least into the first week of MayAlways winnersThey may have left it late to seal the 20 win but as the match progressed there was no escaping the feeling that it would be Chelsearsquos night PSG were more flat beer than French champagne as the game went on and Demba Barsquos lastgasp winner was deserved reward for ChelsearsquosperseveranceI was near Kingrsquos Road after the game and the celebrations were raucous The fans believe despite Bayernrsquos form and Realrsquos blistering forward line that this could again be their year They are also absolutely certain that they have the best manager in the competitionTenacious Atletico Madrid await in the last four but donrsquot be fooled by Mourinhorsquos words into thinking that the Champions League is the sole priority Chelsea are very much in the hunt for the league title The away game in Liverpool aside their fixtures are straightforward They will swat aside the likes of Sunderland Norwich and Cardiff City A draw at Anfield may well be enough to seal the deal Throughout the last month Mourinho has talked down the chances of a title tilt But consider this neither Brendan Rodgers nor Manuel Pelligrini knows what itrsquos like to win a major title Mourinho is an expert So donrsquot be fooled by the kidology The man lies as well as he manages If the Pinocchio fable were really true Mourinho would now have a nose to rival Gerard DepardieuDileep Premachandran is editorinchief of Wisden India He will write a fortnightly column for this newspaper