The Real Madrid manager has heaped praise upon the Istanbul based team’s home crowd as they did not let Madrid play their game for a minute in the return leg.
As the stages progress, Champions League football becomes a real spectacle to watch, and this fact was proved last night by Galatasaray’s brilliant beating of Spanish champions Real Madrid.
After a fatal first leg in Madrid last week, the Turkish side seemed all but out of the competition even before the start of the return leg in Istanbul. Madrid had won at the Santiago Bernabeu 3-0 after goals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 and Gonzalo
Higuain.
The tie was effectively over by the start of the return leg in Istanbul as Cristiano Ronaldo had put Real Madrid 1-0 up on the night after just 7 minutes; Madrid went 4-0 ahead on aggregate over the course of the two legs.
Football is a beautiful game and the beauty of the game came through the 50,000 singing Galatasaray supporters who had made the place a h**l for the visiting Los Blancos. Every touch by the away side was jeered and the home side responded by playing some
beautiful football, one that rocked one of the best teams in the whole world.
Emmanuel Eboue was the man who sparked hopes of come back as he lashed on to a beautiful cut-back pass by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-c11058 Lopez into the top corner of the net, 1-1 to Galatasaray on the night.
12 minutes later, Sneijder caught out the Real Madrid defence with a piece of pure genius as he beat Raphael Varane and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-Alves-c11071. 2-1 to Galatasaray.
The home side smelt blood and it was former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044 who looked to have directed the home side towards a frantic comeback as his mesmerizing back-heel again caught Varane out of his wits and beat Alves to the far bottom corner. 3-1 to
Galatasaray with 18 minutes still to be played.
Cristiano Ronaldo then stepped up to thrash all hopes of a comeback late in injury time as he finished a counter attack after a good set up from Benzema.
Mourinho was full of praise for the home side’s display and even more their home support and admitted that his team was well beaten.
“[Galatasaray] did not play with 11 men today,” Mourinho told reporters following the match. "They played with 50,000 men. In this kind of match we had everything to lose but nothing to gain.”
Real marched on to the semi final of the competition along with German Champions Borussia Dortmund who defeated Malaga in spectacular circumstances after two goals in the injury time sealed their progression.
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