Mourinho: "The tie is open but difficult"
"The tie is open but difficult. Ties are not games. We tried to control the match and score, and we expected our opponent to leave open spaces for us to counterattack in as they searched for a goal. We also wanted to use this to wait for the clock to tick away. We wanted them to experience difficulty losing 1-0, but we cannot afford to concede set piece goals."
"I did not look to concede a goal from a set piece at the start of the second half. We wanted to keep winning 1-0 and avoid making the mistakes we made before half-time. A 1-0 score is a bad result for the visitors and we expected Barcelona to dominate more and leave spaces as they looked for a strike, but we conceded that set piece strike. A team that wants to defeat Barcelona cannot concede that sort of goal. We expected to have more chances to counterattack. Conceding that strike right after half-time affected both sides on a psychological level; it was good for them and they eventually netted a second goal."
"The responsibility is mine. I am responsible for my team, especially when we lose. Victory has many parents and we all celebrated our Copa del Rey title, but defeats belong only to me. That's fine. I accept it as part of football."
"Altintop and Carvalho played very well. Altintop did fine and showcased personality, making a great psychological and physical effort. Carvalho also did very well. They both made themselves available to the coach and the team in a difficult game without any fear and without looking to protect themselves personally. The easiest thing would have been for Carvalho to say he still wasn't fit to play, but Carvalho is Carvalho and I knew I could count on him. Regarding Cristiano, I believe he was our best man tonight."
"I have to prepare for Sunday's match against Athletic Bilbao. The Copa del Rey is our third priority. We've said it before and nothing has changed. The league is our first priority and we're currently only thinking about our match with Athletic."
"I did not look to concede a goal from a set piece at the start of the second half. We wanted to keep winning 1-0 and avoid making the mistakes we made before half-time. A 1-0 score is a bad result for the visitors and we expected Barcelona to dominate more and leave spaces as they looked for a strike, but we conceded that set piece strike. A team that wants to defeat Barcelona cannot concede that sort of goal. We expected to have more chances to counterattack. Conceding that strike right after half-time affected both sides on a psychological level; it was good for them and they eventually netted a second goal."
"The responsibility is mine. I am responsible for my team, especially when we lose. Victory has many parents and we all celebrated our Copa del Rey title, but defeats belong only to me. That's fine. I accept it as part of football."
"Altintop and Carvalho played very well. Altintop did fine and showcased personality, making a great psychological and physical effort. Carvalho also did very well. They both made themselves available to the coach and the team in a difficult game without any fear and without looking to protect themselves personally. The easiest thing would have been for Carvalho to say he still wasn't fit to play, but Carvalho is Carvalho and I knew I could count on him. Regarding Cristiano, I believe he was our best man tonight."
"I have to prepare for Sunday's match against Athletic Bilbao. The Copa del Rey is our third priority. We've said it before and nothing has changed. The league is our first priority and we're currently only thinking about our match with Athletic."
