Blow for Mourinho as Fenerbahçe knocked out of Champions League: “Proud of my team”

Written on 08/14/2024

Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lille (aet) (1-2 aggregate)

José Mourinho suffered a major early setback in his tenure as Fenerbahçe manager after the Turkish giants were knocked out of Champions League qualifying by Lille on Tuesday.

Fener levelled their 2-1 first-leg deficit with a dramatic stoppage time goal to make it 1-0 in normal time. However, towards the end of extra time Lille were awarded a controversial penalty, which Jonathan David converted to send the French outfit into the play-offs.

Mourinho’s side looked to have come up short during the ninety minutes, as the board went up for seven minutes of additional time with the match goalless. That changed when Lille defender Bafode Diakité turned the ball into his own net from a long throw-in, meaning the sides would need extra time to find a winner.

Penalties at a favourbly packed Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium appeared inevitable, until Fener defender Jayden Oosterwolde was penalised by Spanish referee José Sánchez for blocking David’s shot with his hand inside the box. The Canadian stepped up to take the spot kick and sent Fener goalkeeper Dominik Livaković the wrong way, booking Lille a meeting with Slavia Prague in the play-offs.

“The team tried everything today,” Mourinho said after the final whistle. “We tried everything on the field. We changed the system, changed the players, changed our dynamics. We turned from short games to direct games. We played a match that was not easy two days ago, but our fans saw the spirit our team showed and they contributed to our spirit.

“It would be better for me if I did not say anything about the penalty because when I look at other events that have happened to me recently or when we look at what happened in the European Championship, I can say that only the referee knows why it was a penalty. The referee in VAR and the experts in UEFA know. All I know is that I am proud of my team. The reactions of our fans also showed that they saw that the team did their best.”

Mourinho may have been referring to Germany being denied a penalty for a clearer example of the ball striking the arm of Spain defender Marc Cucarella during the Euros. Fener were also frustrated by Lille’s gamesmanship, with the visitors regularly disrupting the game by staying down during breaks in play.

“This is the referee’s job,” Mourinho added. “The referee has to respect the game and make the players respect the game. The same thing happened in the league match we played the other day. I was told that this would happen a lot throughout the season.

“I can’t criticise this, I can’t criticise the opposing teams, I can’t criticise the opposing coaches. They are also doing their best to get results. As I said the other day, if they gave a yellow card in the first 20 minutes, everything could change, but they prefer not to do this.”

Fenerbahçe will now drop down to the Europa League, which they will enter at the group stage. Having been placed in pot 3, there is the potential for Mourinho to face one of his former clubs: Porto, Manchester United, Tottenham or Roma, who are all expected to occupy a place in pot 1.

By @SeanGillen9