The Special One has taken out time to appreciate his players and has voiced that they performed very well in the face of adversity.
Real Madrid head coach, Jose Mourinho, has expressed that his players were excellent during their recent European fixture and came away with a good result despite being reduced to 10 men.
According to the veteran trainer, his side’s opponents were heavily favoured to emerge victorious. However, he pointed that sheer grit and determination helped Los Blancos achieve a desirable result even when it seemed unlikely.
The Spanish champions travelled to Manchester this midweek in order to face English Premier League champions, Manchester City, in their second last fixture of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
It was important for Los Merengues to secure a good result as a defeat could have jeopardized their chances of qualifying for the knock out stages.
To the joy of the Santiago Bernabeu faithful, the nine-time European champions managed to dominate the match and ended the game with a result of 1-1 despite having gone down to 10 men.
The match official has come under great scrutiny as he brandished the red card which reduced Madrid to 10 players. It is believed that this was the decision which helped http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Mancini’s men equalize.
Jose Mourinho has stated that he is satisfied with the draw as it was a tough match to behold. In addition, he also voiced his astonishment at the fact that City have been knocked out of the Champions League for two consecutive years.
"We had several opportunities to score. The second goal would have finished match, we totally controlled the match. City reacted and it is amazing how this team, with these players, have had two years without getting through to the Champions League round
of 16.
They put us under pressure for a few minutes and then the penalty came with the sending off and the equaliser. Playing with ten against a team with thousands of attacking options, we defended well and got the draw. You have to play to draw the match, not
to win. We qualified with a match left to play,” the Special One told reporters.
Madrid have qualified to the last 16 of the Champions League after coming 2nd in the group.
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