Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce faced an early Champions League exit in just his fifth match in charge of the Turkish giants.
After defeating Lugano in the second qualifying round, the 61-year-old saw Fenerbahce lose 2-1 to a last-minute goal at Lille in the first leg of their next tie last week.
They equalized with a Bafode Diakite own-goal in added time in Istanbul, forcing the tie into extra-time. Despite the French visitors being reduced to 10 men, Jonathan David converted a controversial penalty two minutes from the end of the added period.
Our coach Jose Mourinho made post-match comments
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— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) August 13, 2024
The goal secured a 3-2 aggregate victory and set up a play-off clash against Slavia Prague, sending Fenerbahce to the Europa League.
Mourinho chose to focus on the positives and hinted that his new team could follow in the footsteps of his former club Roma, potentially reaching the Europa League Final, but hopefully with a different outcome than his previous loss on penalties against Sevilla.
Speaking to Kontraspor, Mourinho said: “We wouldn’t have won the Champions League. We are now in the Europa League.
“If in the Europa League… I prefer not to finish this sentence. If you’re curious, you can watch the 2023 Europa League final.”
Mourinho refrained from commenting on the handball penalty awarded against Jayden Oosterwolde, who had scored an own-goal in the first leg.
“‘It’s best if I don’t discuss the penalty,” Mourinho stated. “Because given recent events, only the referee knows why it was given, and the VAR knows.
“I am a truthful person. I told my players I was proud of them, they gave their all to win.
“We adjusted to various situations during the match, hit the post twice, had numerous chances. One team deserved to win, but the other team progressed.”
Mourinho made his debut in the Turkish Super Lig last Saturday, with Edin Dzeko’s goal securing a 1-0 victory over Adana Demirspor, although the coach received a yellow card from the referee just 20 minutes into the game.