Jose Mourinho: It was a good result for them

In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Play-Off round, Fenerbahçe drew goalless at home against Benfica. Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho made evaluations at the press conference held after the match.

Regarding the opponent being reduced to 10 men in the last two matches and their style of play, Mourinho said, "They knew how to manage the game after going down to 10 men. We couldn't score because we don't have many solutions to unlock the game. It could have been important if our new player who arrived yesterday had played today. We didn't have fast players. We couldn't change the game in a different way.

I don't think it was a very beautiful match. It was a match with a good struggle. We played against a team that wanted a draw, and it ended in a draw. The team that wanted to win couldn't win either."

"CORNERS DIDN'T PASS THE FIRST PLAYER"

Responding to a question about why set pieces did not reflect on the result, the Portuguese manager replied, "We took 3 corners. The corners didn't pass the first player. If I told you today that we worked on set pieces, I would be telling the truth. I remember 3 corners today."

"SPORTING REASONS WERE CONSIDERED IN KEREM'S TRANSFER"

Mourinho said the following regarding the rumors of national footballer Kerem Aktürkoğlu's transfer to Fenerbahçe and his playing today:

"I think Benfica only thought about the sporting aspect. They didn't think about the economic aspect. Benfica could have sold the player for significant prices. They decided on the current sporting situation. The coach wanted to play the player. They acted like a big club. They didn't doubt the economic aspect. They played the player to qualify for the group stages. It wasn't a big surprise for me that Kerem played."

"IT WAS A GOOD RESULT FOR THEM"

Regarding Benfica's style of play against them, Mourinho said, "This is not a critique. It is not a criticism. For a team like Benfica to start the game and play this way shows they respected us. They are a team with more potential and quality. They saw how we played against Feyenoord. When you play with five defenders, they achieved the result they wanted strategically. I think it was a good result for them. There is nothing to criticize. I once played with 10 men in defense at Barcelona."

"I CANNOT SAY THE TIE IS OVER"

When asked, "Have you lost the advantage, you will play at the Luz Stadium?", the 62-year-old manager replied, "It hasn't changed the favorite part. They are a very big team. Experience has shown this. They showed how to keep the game going in important moments. Playing away or at home are different things. If we are eliminated at the Luz Stadium, I will congratulate them. But I cannot say the tie is over."

Regarding the tactical formation and the contribution to the defense, Mourinho concluded his words by saying, "I think we defended well as a team. But Benfica didn't create much. We stopped the counterattacks. We blocked their transitions. They had a lot of possession at times because they were very deep. Still, it was a harmless match. There was no major threat to our goal. I don't want to think about Lisbon. I want to think about Saturday (league match). Benfica will behave differently there. We don't need to win 4-0, like Nice. Nice needed to win 3-0. We lost to Glasgow Rangers here last year. We almost qualified in the second leg. I don't want to compare the two teams. We are still alive."