The Portuguese coach highlighted the affect of the vibrant Turk Telecom Arena faithful as Los Blancos progressed to the semifinal of the Champions League despite losing 3-2.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has complimented the Galatasaray crowd in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg clash between the Spanish and Turkish champions on Tuesday.
Los Blancos were entering the match with a three-goal lead from the first leg and even struck early in the second when Cristiano Ronaldo redirected a cross home after just seven minutes.
But a raucous crowd in the Turk Telecom Arena propelled the home side to a 3-1 lead in the second half thanks to goals from Emmanuel Eboue, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba before Ronaldo put the tie away with his second, and the Portuguese coach has conceded that the home crowd played a part in proceedings.
“[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.”
The former Chelsea and Inter coach then highlighted the importance of looking to the next round in the competition, and insisted that whatever team they face will undoubtedly be a quality opposition.
“Now we have a semi to play, against a great team,” Mourinho said. ”We do not know which one yet, but they will be great. It will be hard but now is the time to enjoy ourselves and not to be nervous or afraid.”
The draw for the semifinals will take place Friday, with Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to be joined by one of Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain and one of Bayern Munich/Juventus.
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