One of the perks of the being a world-dominating coach like Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho is that when you do falter, and choose to make excuses, the rest of the world will believe youfor a time. So when we hear Mourinho tell ESPN2’s Brandi Chastain that his team’s lackluster performance is down to the heat and tiredness from several hard days of training, we’re inclined to believe him. It’s true, the game against the MLS All-Stars didn’t mean anything to the Sky Blues, but it certainly meant enough to Mourinho that he felt the need to make excuses. It didn’t seem to worry many in the British press that Chelsea played like it had never played together before (indeed they hadn’t really); the real bad news is the loss of Joe Cole, who could be sidelined for up to a month after lasting only seven minutes. “Joe Cole is the real problem of the day,” Mourinho said. “If you had given me the choice of losing 10-0 and having no problem with Joe Cole then I would have taken that option. We don’t want injuries, especially in preseason. I’m not a doctor but everybody is worried.” But there are other problems, too, in the happy family camp: the public dissent of William Gallas, the glut of similar center and holding midfielders, and a left side of defense that clearly needs to be fortified by Ashley Cole as soon as possible. But take nothing away from the MLS All-Stars, who had something to prove to the American public, and they did. And it was a quality 23-yard strike from Dwayne De Rosario, too. Chelsea will always be invited back now to avenge a game they lost, and they’ll want to win next time.