Jose Mourinho: It was a match where the deserving side lost

In the 15th week of the Trendyol Super League, Fenerbahçe was defeated 1-0 by their hosts, Beşiktaş. Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho made evaluations at the press conference held after the match.

Starting by answering a reporter's question, "Do you think what happened off the pitch affected the players?", Mourinho said, “Before coming here, I went to the referee's room and congratulated him.

The referee's management on the pitch was consistent; even the situations where he didn't give a yellow card were equal. He kept control of the game. The players fought in the right way. It was a match where the deserving side lost. We did our best. To be honest, I congratulate Beşiktaş. But they fought for a draw, while we fought to win. Our opponent had 1 and a half chances. We hit the post twice.

There were 2 situations where the goalkeeper was on the ground. The players played to win. We created enough chances to win the match. Our opponent also fought, but they couldn't create chances. We could have done better. We could have played better while circulating the ball in midfield.

I know how football is; people will criticize. But I am expressing my analysis honestly. We deserved to win today. I congratulate Beşiktaş. I don't think my players were under pressure because of the system. Even if the point gap increases to 6 tomorrow, we are still in the race. We will be in the race until the end. We will see what happens in the end,” he said.

"THE OPPONENT HAD 1 CHANCE"

When reminded of his statement before the derby that Beşiktaş is a successful counter-attacking team, Mourinho said, “It was as we expected. We thought they might use Musrati to strengthen the midfield and play Rafa Silva on the wing. I know Rafa Silva better than anyone. We had prepared for this situation. We had zero tactical problems on the pitch. The opponent had 1 chance. And that came from their best attribute, the counter-attack. Our opponent won because they fought. Sometimes the team that fights can be lucky. They would have been happy with 1 point today, but at the end of the day, they won the jackpot. You cannot miss 4-5 chances in a match like this. If you miss them, you get punished,” he said.

"FENERBAHÇE WAS UNLUCKY TODAY"

Emphasizing that they created enough chances to win the match, the Portuguese manager said, “We are not a counter-attacking team. We play as the team that keeps control of the game. I cannot criticize my players today. I cannot criticize Dzeko for missing the chance, I cannot criticize Tadic. I cannot criticize because 2 of our shots hit the post. It is a word I don't like, but I have to use it today. Fenerbahçe was unlucky today,” he said.

"NO ONE IS SADDER THAN ME"

Stating that there is a long road ahead for the yellow-navy fans, Jose Mourinho said, “I tell our fans to watch the match again. They will understand what I mean. I understand their feelings too. No one is sadder than me. No one is sadder than me, the management, or the players. There are some matches where your team does nothing. For example, like the Alkmaar match. But we can keep today's match separate. The road ahead is a long one. Currently, the point gap with the leader is 3, or it will increase to 6 tomorrow. If the referees managing the matches of teams playing for the championship are like today's, the championship race will be very good. I think we can win. I think that in general, people in Turkey do not congratulate referees,” he concluded.