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mercredi, novembre 07, 2012

Mourinho: "The Callejón goal was legal"

MARCA.COM


 "We have not played well in the first half", he admits
 
 
José Mourinho's 99th match as a manager in the Champions League will go down as a memorable one for the strategic decisions he made both prior to, and during the 90 minutes in Tuesday night's 2-2 draw versus Borussia Dortmund.The Portuguese manager elected to slot Álvaro Arbeloa at left back in the former Liverpool man's first match back since sustaining a hamstring injury with the Spanish national team. It would end up backfiring on Mourinho as Arbeloa was burned on both Dortmund goals.
The Germans struck when Arbeloa was late in covering Reus who beat Iker Casillas in the 28th minute and then moments before halftime a cross whipped into the area by Grosskreutz was diverted by Arbeloa, past Casillas and into the Madrid net for the own-goal. The play of the Salamanca-born player earned whistles from the fickle Madrid fans which irked the Madrid boss.
"One who has been two-and-something years in Madrid, the whistles, the coldness from the public, it no longer surprises. They are cultural things. We have not played well in the first half and the stadium has not reacted. Afterward in the second half we have been better and the public has been behind them pushing", said Mourinho.
The second half saw a different Madrid as Mournho replaced an injured Higuaín with Callejón who proved to be a spark. The former Espanyol man had a goal disallowed much to the dismay of the home fans but his presence breathed life into the home side.
Still, facing a late 1-2 deficit, Mourinho made a tactical risk replacing the beleaguered Arbeloa with attacking midfielder Kaká in the 77th minute. The gamble paid off for Mourinho eleven minutes later when Mesut Özil scored off a free kick giving Madrid the hard-earned point, which for Mourinho, should have been a victory.
"The draw would have tasted like a victory if we had only scored two goals. But we made three, because the Callejón one was legal. We scored three goals and for that the draw does not taste to me like a victory", remarked Mourinho.

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