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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho 'happy' with Radamel Falcao

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - NOVEMBER 14:  Radamel Falcao of Colombia celebrates the first goal during the international friendly match between Belgium and Colombia
Image: Radamel Falcao signed for Chelsea on loan from Monaco

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he is "happy" with the impact made so far by new signing Radamel Falcao.

The 29-year-old completed a season-long loan move to Chelsea from Monaco last month and made his first appearance for the club as a second-half substitute in their pre-season penalty shoot-out victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup last Wednesday. 

Falcao spent a largely unsuccessful spell on loan at Manchester United last season, where he managed to score just four goals in 29 appearances, failing to earn himself a permanent deal at Old Trafford. 

Ahead of his second season in England, the former Atletico Madrid striker was given an extended summer break by Mourinho to fully recover from his exploits with Colombia at the Copa America. 

Radamel Falcao: The Columbian superstar has struggled for form with Manchester United.
Image: Falcao struggled for form at Manchester United

He returned to score a penalty in the 4-2 shoot-out win over the European champions in Washington and Mourinho said he is satisfied with the effort of his new recruit.

"I'm very happy with his first week. I like him a lot as a player," Mourinho said. "The team play very well with a striker of his quality. He's not just a guy that can score a goal, he can also contribute a lot to the quality of the game.

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"I was not expecting him to come here, play 20 minutes against Barcelona and score three goals.

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"I was waiting for his determination to work, to help the team and to understand the way we play football. For the moment, we are happy."

Mourinho also hinted he could change his side's formation this season to accommodate an extra forward, having regularly deployed Diego Costa as a lone striker.

"In the last 20 minutes against Barcelona, we played with Loic Remy and Falcao," Mourinho added.

"They did very well not just to bring the team forward but also with one less player in midfield they closed the spaces in front of the midfield line. We can play with two.

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Highlights from Chelsea's ICC Champions Cup clash with Barcelona

"We were losing against Barcelona and I took Eden Hazard off because I was not worried about the result otherwise he would have played the whole game. 

"Falcao came on and suddenly the team was direct and objective. They closed the lines and played in the opposition half. Falcao held the ball up very well."

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