Graeme Souness hits back in war of words with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho

Graeme Souness has rejected criticism from Jose Mourinho, insisting that he will not change his opinion on the "gamesmanship" displayed by Chelsea during their Champions League last 16 second-leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week.

Former Liverpool stalwart Souness declared himself "saddened" by the behaviour of certain players during the eventful 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher even going as far to state that the exaggerated reaction to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's challenge on Oscar, which earned the striker a straight red card, was "disgraceful".

Mourinho hit back at both men during a heated press conference on Friday, claiming that they have a "problem" and providing a reminder that he learned a lot about Souness' own managerial methods after taking the reins at Benfica back in 2000.

Such a fiery rebuke does not appear to have put an end to the matter, however, with Carragher again questioning the Portuguese's methods on March 14 and Souness reaffirming his anger at Chelsea's approach ahead of their Premier League clash against Southampton.

"He (Mourinho) had his say about me at his press conference on Friday and he is entitled to his opinion, but it won't change mine," he wrote in the Sunday Times.

"When he reflects on what went wrong against PSG and addresses it, I hope – yet doubt – that will include the obsession with gamesmanship.

"It seemed more important to Chelsea than getting on the ball and taking on PSG in a game of football, which they were more than capable of winning. They are a far better team than they showed. Getting the opposition booked by their excessive reaction to fouls became their priority. I was angered and saddened by that approach."

It is not just Mourinho who has reacted poorly to criticism in the aftermath of Chelsea's Champions League exit.

Indeed, the club's own official Instagram account had their own fun at Carragher and Souness' expense on Saturday evening, posting photos of both men surrounding referees during their own careers along with the caption "for those with short memories".