Jose Mourinho criticised Eden Hazard's error in his Chelsea side's Champions League elimination and backhandedly exonerated the Belgian for his comments following the midweek exit to Atletico Madrid.

Hazard, Chelsea's best performer for much of the season, failed to track back to allow the visitors to equalise and later said his team are set up to counter attack, not to take the initiative in games. This was interpreted as a slight on Mourinho's tactics, and coming from a player linked with Paris St-Germain this summer, led to speculation over his future.

"I listened to the interview," said Mourinho. "There was nothing critical in what he said. When the comments come from a player like Eden it's normal because he's not the kind of player to sacrifice himself for the team.

"Eden is the kind of player that is not so mentally ready to look back to his left-back and to leave his life for him. If you see the first goal of Atletico you completely understand where the mistake was and why we conceded that goal. The perfect team at the top level cannot make these mistakes."