Jose Mourinho was back to his usual ‘if I speak too much’ line of soundbites having seen Fenerbahce crash out of the Champions—as a Lille first enjoyed a thrilling 3-2 aggregate win. Fenerbahce had seemingly taken the tie to penalties after Bafodé Diakité’s 85th-minute own goal on the night drew the two teams level on aggregate in Istanbul. But there was another twist in store for the visitors after Jonathan David’s long-range shot made contact -with the arm of Jayden Oosterwolde- a VAR review decided there had been a penalty incident.
David scored from the spot in the 118th minute to earn victory for Lille and condemn Fenerbahce to the Europa League next season. Mourinho, who can now turn his attention to either Manchester United or former club Tottenham Hotspur, was not happy at the final whistle, however, as he commented post-match.
With his iconic phrase first murmured during his Chelsea work in the backdrop, Mourinho was clearly signalling his disagreement with the penalty decision:
“We can do very well in the Europa League, but if. I prefer not to continue with this sentence. Because if I say it, I will get into trouble. It’s better not to talk about the penalty.”
Mourinho was visibly upset as he told reporters, “Only the referee knows why it was a penalty, only the VAR knows. I’m proud of my team.”
