Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, has revealed that his men had expected his team to be eliminated from Copa del Rey prior to the quarter-final against Barcelona.
Madrid were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona, after an aggregate score-line of 4-3.
Los Blancos visited the Nou Camp this past Wednesday to lock horns with traditional foes, Barcelona, for the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final.
To the joy of football followers all over the world, the match proved to be a very thrilling encounter. Although the final result of the match was a 2-2 draw, it was one of the most competitive matches of the season so far.
The Catalans opened the scoring in the first half through Pedro Rodriguez, who was assisted by the Argentinean maestro, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dani-Alves-c9869 doubled Barca’s advantage over the Whites with a spectacular goal, seconds before the half-time whistle.
Despite conceding against the run of play, Real managed to retaliate to the Catalan onslaught with an incredible comeback in the second half. Goals from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 saw the score-line equalized.
To the dismay of the Real Madrid faithful, Benzema’s goal proved to be the last of the game and the match ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
La Blaugrana were able to cement their position in the semi-finals due to a superior goal-aggregate.
Having won the first leg away from home provided the Catalans with a great deal of advantage going into the return leg at home.
After the game, Mourinho expressed that his players already thought that Madrid could not beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Interestingly, according to Mourinho’s revelations, the players expected this result as they are used to poor refereeing decisions against Barcelona.
While addressing the media, the 49-year-old was quoted as saying:
“I heard in the changing room that it is impossible to win here. I will not speak about the referee. We came with the hope of getting through. We knew it was very difficult, but we came with the hope of achieving it.
"I played here with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567, and with Real Madrid in the Champions League. This is a familiar situation to me."
The Portuguese mentor hinted that he was quite used to seeing Barcelona emerge victorious at the courtesy of the match officials.
The victors, Barcelona, will face http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.
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