Mourinho Speaks After Kasımpaşa Win: “Working with This Team Is a Pleasure!”

Fenerbahçe secured a 3-1 win against Kasımpaşa in their latest league match, with goals from En-Nesyri (2) and Oğuz Aydın. With this result, the gap between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray was reduced to three points, though Fenerbahçe has played one more match.

Jose Mourinho spoke to beIN SPORTS about the Kasımpaşa victory and the highly anticipated Galatasaray derby.

“I’m very happy. I knew this match would be tough. We played a high-intensity game last Thursday, so we had to make changes to the starting eleven. Our opponent was good today, their coach was good. I expected a difficult match. During the period when we scored the first goal, Kasımpaşa was actually the better team. Burak Yılmaz surprised us. They played in a system we didn’t expect. After the first goal, we took control of the game.

Even after it became 2-1, we didn’t panic and continued to dominate. We scored the third goal, and once we did, we kept pushing for a fourth. Every player on the pitch responded positively, so I’m really, really happy.

We create danger in many different ways. We’re strong in aerial duels and have fast players who can exploit spaces behind the defense. We have a lot of quality options. It’s tough for me to leave some players on the bench. İrfan Can Kahveci, Cengiz Ünder, Cenk Tosun… Edin Dzeko and Saint-Maximin were also on the bench today.

Unfortunately, injuries have been an issue. Since Amrabat was playing as a center-back, I couldn’t substitute Mert. Some players are forced to play consecutive matches—Tadic, for example, played the full 90 minutes. My players are giving their all and working together as a unit.

Working with a team like this is a pleasure for any coach.”