After Fenerbahçe-Benfica draw, Mourinho insists: “We don’t need…” | OneFootball

Following the draw against Benfica, José Mourinho is only thinking about Fenerbahçe's next game. Photography: Ahmed Mora | GettyImages

As he had already mentioned before the first leg, José Mourinho once again did not attribute the favoritism to Benfica, at a time when both teams recorded a nil-nil draw at the Fenerbahçe stronghold, postponing all qualification decisions for the second leg, which will take place at Estádio da Luz.

In statements to journalists, moments after the final whistle in Istanbul, José Mourinho reiterated that he does not give favoritism to the opponent, but acknowledged its quality: "I do not attribute favoritism to Benfica. I continue to say the same thing, that Benfica is a great team and showed it".

However, with vast experience in the world of football, the Special One suggested that the advantage may now be on the side of the eagles, but that does not change anything: "Obviously, playing away is one thing and playing at home is another. But, as a matter of principle, if I am eliminated at Luz and deserve to be eliminated, I will be the first to congratulate".

Refusing to give up on the tie, the Portuguese coach stated that Fenerbahçe performed very well in the game against the reds: "We defended well as a team, but there was also little to defend. What we did, we did well. It was a game where there was not a single 'ai', a ball that came close to our goal".

Finally, since the match ended in a nil-nil draw, all decisions were postponed to Lisbon: "We don't need to win 3-0 like Nice needed to. It's open. Last year we lost here to Rangers and we almost went through. I don't want to compare Rangers with Benfica. We are alive".

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.