Football
PA Sport 10y

Hilario may start against Liverpool

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has suggested he is not prepared to risk Mark Schwarzer in Sunday's match at Liverpool as the Premier League leaders' strikers go looking for contact in the penalty area.

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A dislocated shoulder for Petr Cech means Schwarzer is Mourinho's No. 1 and is needed for Wednesday's Champions League semifinal second leg at home to Atletico Madrid.

Smacking his hands and repeating himself for emphasis, Mourinho hinted third-choice goalkeeper Hilario will be his selection as he fears Schwarzer could be hurt by Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

“When the goalkeeper comes and these kind of strikers go there to hit the goalkeeper and dive for the penalty, it's even more dangerous,” Mourinho said.

The Chelsea boss is preparing to throw Hilario into his first appearance in two-and-a-half years. The 38-year-old Portuguese's most recent appearance for Chelsea was a 2-1 win for West Brom in August 2011.

Mourinho said: “He's one of our two goalkeepers. We don't have another one. We have only Schwarzer and Hilario.”

Australian Schwarzer is 41 and signed under freedom of contract after leaving Fulham last summer.

Mourinho moved for Schwarzer for “his experience, the number of matches that he played during his career.”

The Chelsea boss added: “He knows everything about the goal, about the small box. And when you are choosing a second goalkeeper you need to choose somebody that is specially mentally ready to play in any moment.”

The same goes for Hilario, who signed for Chelsea in 2006, during Mourinho's first spell, making his debut in a 1-0 defeat of Barcelona in the Champions League group stages.

“I remember when Hilario played against Barcelona in the Champions League,” Mourinho said. “He went into goal and he has to answer. I think it's a good thing to have a second or third goalkeeper with experience; somebody that goes into the game, doesn't matter which game, and feels comfortable.”

The Anfield fixture coming between legs of a Champions League semifinal brings to mind the most notorious episode of the epic duels between the clubs during Mourinho's first spell, Luis Garcia's controversial and decisive goal in the 2005 semifinals.

Mourinho said: “I don't remember every detail of every match. I remember the key moments. The thing I remember and the world remembers is that -- the ghost goal.”

Mourinho, who brought up the perceived injustice last week ahead of the first leg, insisted the episode is done.

He said: “It's over. Finished.”

Mourinho had to travel separately from the Chelsea squad for Sunday’s game as he is suffering with illness and did not want to risk infecting his players.

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