Jose Mourinho Press Conference: “In an Ideal World, We’d Be 8-9 Points Ahead”

The Portuguese coach stated that the match did not go to a “different point” because the players and the team were “aware.” He added that they have ideas they want to implement in every match.

“TACTICAL CULTURE: ADAPTING TO ANY SITUATION”

Mourinho emphasized that they need to adapt according to the style of the opponent’s play in each match, saying: “We always think about what the match requires. Until we scored the first goal, Kasımpaşa had control of the game. They had more possession and controlled the game. But we managed to overcome that, and after we scored, the game changed. What my players have learned, I call it ‘tactical culture,’ which means adapting to any situation.”

“MY PLAYERS DIDN’T PANIC”

Praising Kasımpaşa’s head coach Burak Yılmaz, Mourinho noted that Kasımpaşa, who usually plays with a four-man defense, started with a five-man defense, which they hadn’t anticipated. However, in the second half, Kasımpaşa returned to a four-man defense, which presented new problems, but Fenerbahçe adapted well to those as well. Mourinho said: “Modern football is like this. My team is not perfect right now; we still make mistakes. But when the score was 2-1, my players didn’t panic. They didn’t think they were in trouble. Then we scored the third goal, and we could have scored a fourth. We didn’t face any issues. The reason we didn’t is that the players were both individually and as a team, aware of what to do.”

“WE’RE NOT EXPERTS IN AVOIDING YELLOW CARDS”

Responding to a question about whether he warned his players on yellow card suspension ahead of the upcoming Galatasaray derby, Mourinho said: “We are not experts in managing yellow cards. We’re not experts in intentionally getting yellow cards to avoid suspensions. We just play our game. Today, Szymański was suspended, and we saw how difficult it was without him. İsmail Yüksek was injured. Mert Hakan had to play the full 90 minutes because we didn’t have any other midfielders. Other players also had to push their limits. Filip Kostić was on the edge, and we started with two fresh players on the flanks, Mert and Oğuz. We didn’t make substitutions thinking about the next match. Our next match is against Anderlecht.”

ON EN-NESYRI’S FORM

Mourinho also commented on Youssef En-Nesyri‘s impressive form, saying: “I think his improvement is related to time. When En-Nesyri came here, he hadn’t had a preseason. When he arrived, he wasn’t fit to play 90 minutes. Also, he hadn’t played many games alongside Edin Džeko. One of them was playing at a time. After he gained his form, I decided to play them together, and his performance improved. When you criticized him, I trusted him. Both I and our sporting director were criticized, the club was criticized for spending so much money. In fact, there were talks about selling him to Saudi Arabia in January. Now, we’re seeing what kind of player he is. Also, the team is playing very well, and that’s influencing him. He has scored 15 goals in the league without any penalties. He also has goals in Europe and the cup. Right now, he’s doing great.”

“WE SHOULD BE 8-9 POINTS AHEAD IN THE LEAGUE”

Mourinho added that the real impact of his coaching will be seen when they win trophies: “I define myself and my goals like this. We are currently in three competitions, and we are still alive in the Europa League. Winning the cup there will be difficult, but we are setting goals step by step. We advanced from the group and now want to get through against Anderlecht. We are in good shape in the Turkish Cup, but we still have one match left. In the league, we should normally be 8-9 points ahead of second place, but right now, we are 6 points behind the leader. In the two years of my contract, we will see the impact. So, let’s try to achieve something together this year.”