© EuroFootball.com
Jose Mourinho in his second season in a row with Madrid's "Real" reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. The Spanish super club coached by the Portuguese lost 2-3 in the second leg of the quarterfinals in Istanbul to the home team "Galatasaray", but advanced because they celebrated victory in the first leg in Madrid a week ago (3-0).
At the "Turk Telekom" stadium, the hosts conceded the first goal when C. Ronaldo scored accurately in the 7th minute. However, "Galatasaray" responded with three goals in the second half - goals scored by E. Eboue (57th minute), W. Sneijder (71st minute), and D. Drogba (72nd minute).
The spark was extinguished when C. Ronaldo scored another goal in extra time.
After the match, J. Mourinho had criticisms for his players and praises for the opponents. The Portuguese also praised the atmosphere at the "Turk Telekom" stadium in Istanbul.
"I would love to play every match in this stadium. Every football player or coach would want to compete in such an atmosphere - it is the perfect atmosphere for football.
I am not very happy with my players, but I am glad for the players and supporters of "Galatasaray" - if you get knocked out of the tournament, you have to behave like they did," said J. Mourinho.
The coach of the Madrid team admitted that for a while during the match his team had lost control when they were trailing 1-3.
"We lost control briefly. But when the scoreline became 1-3, I moved R. Albiol to the center back position - we reduced space for the opponents and in the last 10 minutes we were much calmer," explained J. Mourinho.
