Chelsea lost on penalties to Manchester United, but Mourinho said: "I couldn't be happier with this group of players.

"They did very, very well. We know we had limitations but controlled the game and had our chances to score goals - not many, but a couple.

"I don't think they deserved to lose on penalties - but that's football.

"The season starts on Saturday and we didn't lose the game, we are not at a lower level than the opposition.

"We showed we have a great group of boys fighting and working together."

With captain John Terry and striker Didier Drogba injured, Mourinho was disappointed to see four more of his squad pick up injuries.

He added: "Petr Cech, Glen Johnson, Florent Malouda and Shaun Wright-Phillips (were injured). At half-time I didn't know what to do.

"Petr and Shaun carried on but Glen had to come off and Florent too.

"We had a lot of problems before the game and during it but we were very positive and I'm happy with the players, although I'm not happy to lose the players."

Asked on Sky Sports 1 how he viewed the forthcoming Barclays Premier League campaign, he said: "With no fear.

"We came without fear today and controlled the game against the champions, so why should we be afraid of the future?"