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Remember, Munich's "Bayern" defeated "Real" after a penalty shootout and advanced to the Champions League final.
J.Mourinho explained that before the second leg of the semi-final, "Bayern" could have saved some energy because the last Bundesliga match for the Germans was not as important as the "Real" battle with "Barcelona".
"We deserved to win. Yes, the series was very close, but playing after important and non-decisive matches in the championship - those are two different things.
In a similar situation, I was once when I coached "Chelsea" and in the semi-final we played against "Liverpool". "Liverpool" was 30 points behind the leaders in the English league at that time and before the Champions League semi-final they could afford to play with a reserve lineup. Meanwhile, "Chelsea" fought for titles in every match.
If we didn't have to play a match, the price of which is the title of Spanish champions, we would have been fresher. Just a few days after "El Clasico", "Barcelona" failed to beat "Chelsea".
The final featured the fifth team in the English league and the second team in the German league who could afford to let reserve players play in weekend matches."
Praised the "Chelsea" players
Nevertheless, J.Mourinho praised the former "Chelsea" players who moved into the final by eliminating "Barcelona".
"John Terry will be greatly missed by the "Chelsea" team, but they are in the final and that is the most important thing. "Chelsea" played heroically (on Tuesday, - ed.). Those who criticize this team don't understand anything about character, sacrifice, and difficulties - psychological, physical, tactical - that arise while playing with 10 against 11".
"Chelsea fans are fantastic. The German fans are the same. I hope they will all enjoy and the final will be great, but I hope "Chelsea" wins," added J.Mourinho.
About Ronaldo: Success also depends on the best
Of course, J.Mourinho did not avoid questions about Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed to convert his penalty in the shootout. J.Mourinho explained that even the best players can always fail.
It's normal because we wanted to win. The saddest part is for the players. It's painful to see their sadness, but we have to stay strong. Last season, we won the Spanish Cup, if we win the league this year, it will be a step forward."
Will he stay in Madrid?
"Real" withdrew from the Champions League semi-finals for the second year in a row. J.Mourinho mentioned that this failure could prompt him to stay at "Real" despite constant talk of the Portuguese returning to the Premier League.
We will discuss with the club leaders, exchange ideas on how we could push "Real" even further. And if the club leaders think that I can still be useful, and I think they think so, then I believe we will continue our work.
