... despite the Magpies being short of 13 players. But Mourinho insists he axed £30million striker Andriy Shevchenko because he felt his side required different qualities against Newcastle, rather than feeling the Geordies were a push-over.
Mourinho: "I make decisions from my analysis. I took him out of the team because I felt the team needed different qualities. With Salomon Kalou and Arjen Robben, I get different qualities.
"Kalou is still a bit naive but I think the team needed their qualities in this moment. So we decided to make some changes and Shevchenko was out. I think he took it as a professional. He was not happy but behaved properly. He came on when I decided and did well for the team."