Mourinho had had a troubled week, re-turning to Portugal by private jet to see his 76 -year-old father José Manuel Mourinho Félix who underwent surgery in Lisbon.
The former professional goalkeeper originally hails from Ferragudo, in the Algarve, but spent most of his career as a player and manager at Vitória Setúbal where the ‘special one’ was born in 1963.
Mourinho said, ‘I was there with him for the most difficult moment, which was the moment of the surgery. Apart from that, everything is under control. He’s strong. He’s getting better, better, better, better. I’m much more relaxed.’ The world’s number one manager will be even more relaxed after Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 thanks to an Eden Hazard goal. Mourinho has now won eight domestic titles with four clubs: FC Porto 2002-03 & 2003-04, Chelsea 2004-05, 2005-06 & 2014-15, Inter Milan 2008-09 & 2009-10 and Real Madrid 2011-12. He has also won the UEFA Champions League twice and the UEFA Cup once; a truly remarkable record.
Some 1600 kilometres south another world beater, Cristiano Ronaldo, was scoring the 29th hat-trick of his illustrious career to inflict a first home defeat for Sevilla in thirty-five matches.
In the process Real Madrid racked up a seventh straight win in the league. Ronaldo has now made 197 appearances for Real in La Liga; one more than the 196 he made for Manchester United in the Premier League.
Barcelona, two points behind the leaders, beat Cordoba 8-0 thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick and further goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar, Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique.
On the home front Benfica pressed on towards retaining their Primeira Liga title as they thrashed Gil Vicente 5-0 in Barcelos. A brace from Maxi Pereira and further goals from Jonas, Lima and skipper Luisão did the damage. The Eagles require six points from their last three games to retain the title and home wins against bottom club Penafiel and Marítimo will do the trick.
FC Porto went into their match against Vitória Setúbal fighting against a remarkable statistic. The northerners had failed to win any of their last twelve Liga matches south of Coimbra. A continuation of that run would have all but ended the title race but a goal in each half from Brahimi and Jackson Martínez kept the Dragons just three points behind their bitter rivals.
Sporting guaranteed third-place and qualification for the Champions League play-off thanks to a 2-0 win over Nacional at the Alvalade, while Boavista, back in the top flight after being reinstated following a lengthy legal case, ensured survival in the top flight after beating Moreirense at the Bessa.
In the 2nd Division SC Portimonense suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat by bottom club Trofense whilst SC Farense beat AC Viseu and SC Olhanense were in blistering form as they toppled second-place Chaves 3-0. Over a thousand fans including some 400 islanders protesting at the demolition of their homes on Armona and Culatra were treated to a five-star performance by a team that for most of the season has under-performed.
As both teams entered the stadium they were wearing slogan T-shirts supporting the islanders. Second-half goals from Femi Balogun, Galassi and Murilo have virtually assured the Olhão side of avoiding the drop. On Sunday morning (10 May) Olhanense entertain league leaders Tondela at the José Arcanjo Stadium, Olhão (behind McDonalds on the EN125) kick-off 11.15am. The game is being shown live on Sport TV.