Either something has transformed Jose Mourinho in the last 12 months, or the Chelsea manager is purposefully trying to take some of the pressure off his squad ahead of today’s Champions League opener. The draw might have something to do with that, as the English champion has once again landed in the competition’s “Group of Death.” Along with Chelsea, Champions League Group A features Werder Bremen, minnows Levski Sofia, and Barcelona, Chelsea’s old nemesis in the competition and the tournament’s defending champion. At a press conference ahead of today’s match versus Levski Sofia, Mourinho proclaimed his team one of 10 that could win the Champions League. That kind of modesty isn’t what we’ve come to expect from the normally arrogant Portuguese, whom the Telegraph described as “respectful” to his opponents and their managers. It could be that management told the Chelsea manager to ease up after the bad press the club received for its poor handling of both the William Gallas-Ashley Cole transfer mess and the “tapping-up” incident involving several Leeds United players. Mourinho actually said Chelsea would do well to qualify from such a trough group: “We could have had an easier draw,” he said. “I do not think I am far from correct when I say Werder are the best of the third seeds.” Werder Bremen’s starting line-up includes four players who figured in Juergen Klinsmann’s Germany team that finished third at the World Cup: Miroslav Klose, Torsten Frings, Tim Borowski and Per Mertesacker.