Fenerbahçe advanced to the 3rd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Swiss side Lugano 2-1 in the second leg, following their 4-3 win in the first leg of the 2nd qualifying round. Fenerbahçe manager Jose Mourinho made evaluations after the match.
The Portuguese manager emphasized that they remained calm, succeeded in advancing, and would begin preparations for the Lille matchup, stating the following:
"Actually, everything is important during this period. The perfect scenario would have been for all players to be with us from the first day. It is difficult to work under these conditions. All the players are in different situations. The only thing I can do is congratulate them. Ferdi only had 5-6 training sessions but played for 80 minutes.
I knew the match would be difficult; I said yesterday that we had to survive. Our opponent is a good team, they gave us a hard time. We stayed calm. After it was 1-1, everything was in our hands, we didn't face any difficulties. We passed the round and managed to survive.
"I WANT A SMALL BUT COMPETITIVE SQUAD"
I said it at the press conference yesterday, I want a small but competitive squad. If we want to fight for trophies, the team must be top-level. We must have many solutions at hand. It is impossible for a player to play every match. Right now, I have 3 top-level strikers. They are strong players. I couldn't be happier with the strikers I have. It is also possible for us to play with two strikers. We will try this when we have time.
"WE HAVEN'T WORKED ON ANYTHING"
We haven't worked on anything. Of course, I know them from last year. Our only focus was Lugano. We need to look at it step by step. From now on, we can talk about Lille. After spending some time by the pool in the sun tomorrow, we will start working for Lille."
News Source: 12punto
