Jose Mourinho is no stranger to using post-match media duties to create headlines, and he was in typically sardonic mood after Fenerbahce’s defeat to Istanbul rivals Besiktas on Saturday.
It was a former Liverpool player who partly contributed to his latest rant, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netting the only goal of the match to end a four-game winless run for the Black Eagles.
Mourinho raging after derby defeat
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager – who’s now in charge of the Yellow Canaries – wasn’t exactly the definition of gracious with his verdict on the game when speaking to reporters afterwards.
Mourinho fumed (via Liverpool Echo): “We deserved at least a draw. The match was under our control, but we couldn’t finish it. I congratulate the referee and Besiktas. The worst team won.
“Although we weren’t perfect, I think we were better, but they took advantage of their only chance. We will continue to fight for the championship.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal gave Besiktas victory over Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce
(Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
A familiar lament from Mourinho…
Mourinho’s remark about the result not corresponding with the apparently superior team will sound amusingly familiar to Liverpool fans from similar complaints over the years.
After the Reds beat his Chelsea team in the 2005 Champions League semi-finals, he infamously insisted that ‘the best team lost’ – words that he resurrected 15 years later when his Tottenham side went down to a last-gasp defeat at Anfield thanks to a Bobby Firmino winner.
The statistics from the Istanbul derby on Saturday would suggest that the 61-year-old is being a tad harsh on Besiktas – as per Sofascore, both teams had 12 shots and the xG was just about in Fenerbahce’s favour (1.00 to 0.98), and it was their goalkeeper who actually had more saves to make than his opposite number.
We suspect that Liverpool supporters without any specific leanings towards either of those clubs will have very much enjoyed watching Oxlade-Chamberlain net the winning goal (also his first of the season) to prompt Mourinho’s latest sour outburst!