WHAT has been billed, predictably, as a civil war was notable yesterday for the outbreak of civility. English football has come to know José Mourinho in recent months as an incorrigible seeker of trouble, but this was a return to the charismatic charmer who held even Arsenal and Manchester United fans spellbound when he arrived last summer calling himself “a special one”.

Asked yesterday if he felt that he had lived up to that billing, the Chelsea manager almost blushed at the memory. “At the time I said that, I had just become European champion,” he said. “I came with my ego up here.” And now? “Now it is even bigger,” he said, breaking into a hearty chuckle.

After the mayhem of the previous rounds against Barcelona and Bayern Munich, which featured touchline bans, tantrums and wild accusations, Mourinho’s good humour was refreshing. Whether it reflects an inner calm cannot be stated with any certainty, but as Chelsea line up against Liverpool in tonight’s European Cup semi- final first leg, the manager’s message was simple. “No panic,” he said, whatever the result.

If he has a worry, apart from a hamstring injury that could rule out Damien Duff and force him to gamble on Arjen Robben’s fitness, it is the expectation that Chelsea will inflict a fourth defeat of the season on a Liverpool team who languish 31 points behind them in the Barclays Premiership. Mourinho wants his players and the supporters to understand that 0-0 at Stamford Bridge would not be a calamity.

“I will tell the players, ‘Don’t play the first game at home thinking we have to win, that we have to get a result to get to the final,’ ” he said. “It would be crazy to chase a result because we can win at Anfield. After the game I will be here very cool, independent of the result.”

Mourinho has not lost any of his 13 knockout ties in Europe, although he believes that he is up against a formidable foe in Rafael Benítez. His lavish praise for his Liverpool counterpart, who outwitted Fabio Capello and Juventus in the previous round, seems sincere. “It does not surprise me they are in the semi-final. What surprises me is that they aren’t doing well in the league,” he said. “They are a team with one of the best managers in the world and some of the best players in the country and a club that, with its history, is respected all over the world. So it is normal that they reach the semi-final.”

Predictions are complicated by the contradictions between Liverpool’s form at home and abroad. Will Benítez turn up with the team that beat Juventus or the one that succumbed meekly to Crystal Palace at the weekend? Xabi Alonso’s recent return from injury is a huge boon, easing the burden on Steven Gerrard.

While Liverpool were waiting for Milan Baros to confirm his fitness, Duff’s strain forced him to train alone. Robben would not be a bad replacement, but Mourinho gave the impression that he would prefer the Dutchman, who has not started a match for more than two months, to come off the bench.

Mourinho will be forced to use the erratic Glen Johnson and, given his shortage of full backs, he will be concerned that the former West Ham United player, as well as William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho, are one booking away from a suspension. Likewise, Benítez will have to remind Jamie Carragher and Alonso that they cannot afford to dive recklessly into tackles.

Liverpool will be spurred on by their three defeats by Chelsea, particularly the most recent one, in the Carling Cup final, with Gerrard described as a man on a mission by his manager. Some of the Chelsea squad are driven by memories of their semi-final defeat by AS Monaco last season. “We were devastated to lose to a side we were expected to beat,” Joe Cole said. “That will spur us on.”

Claudio Ranieri was the manager then, but Mourinho knows how hard that defeat hit his players and said that this evening’s match was about them. “I don’t think about me,” he said. “I think about my players, especially those who reached the semi-final last year. I would love to win it more because of them, more because of the club, because they didn’t reach the final before, and more because of Mr Abramovich, because he created this fantastic situation for Chelsea. He deserves the success.

“I am very lucky in my career that I won the Cup Winners’ Cup with Barcelona, the Uefa Cup and Champions League with Porto. I would just love to give my little contribution, my help.”