"All my men did a good job. We moved our lines further back tonight in order to play a more straightforward game. Adebayor provided the speed and depth in counterattack we needed. We managed to draw and nearly won the match thanks to hard work and the support of a fantastic crowd. We must accept the draw given the circumstances that arose in the game".
"It was an even game when we had eleven men on the pitch. The first half showed two sides that respect each other and that are aware of each other's strength. There were hardly any chances on goal in the first half. But, as usual on many occasions, it is practically impossible to win when you're down to ten men. Especially against one of the best touch football teams in the world. Barcelona experienced difficulties when we had all our players, but they felt more comfortable when we were one man down".
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| Jose Mourinho |
"This game will affect Wednesday's match in that we played with ten men for 45 minutes and that my players are tired. Barcelona, with one extra man, kept possession, forcing us to work harder. We've seen we can compete with them when we have a full lineup, but we'll have to prepare for the eventuality of playing with ten men once again. Albiol will not be able to play the final".
"The match on Wednesday is unique: winning or losing means you take the cup home with you or you don't. It will be more tense than our games against Barcelona in La Liga and the Champions League. We will try to win. We don't need to study our opponent in depth because we know them already. We have hopes of defeating a very good rival".
"The essence of football is for fans to support their team, and we were acknowledged by ours tonight. The Bernabeu crowd saw a team with ten players showcase courage and hard work to draw a game, and even have chances to score a second strike, in a situation in which Barcelona could have netted three or four more goals. A team doesn't need to win to be respected. People just need to feel the players give their all, just like Real Madrid did tonight".
"Once again, we were down to ten men for a long time. And once again, there was an incredible difference in refereeing criteria. I don't understand why Dani Alves wasn't booked a second time when he provoked a penalty. Things would have been different in the final ten minutes he had been sent off. We played very well with ten men because we prepared for it. We knew what we had to do. We now wish conditions to be the same for both teams on Wednesday".
And finished talking about Cristiano Ronaldo: "For me it is not important he scored his firstgoal against Barcelona. He has cold blood and courage to face a decisive penalty in the final minutes. With one less he had to play differently and has done well. All we leave the game with positive feelings, we tried make things right and have the recognition of our people".
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