Jose Mourinho has made the surprising claim that Fenerbahce’s 3-1 home defeat to Rangers in the Europa League was “a good result” before sending a warning their way.
The Portuguese manager admitted his team was “very bad everywhere” following Thursday night’s last-16 first leg in Istanbul.
“Maybe you laugh, but for me it was a good result, because the way we performed the result could be bigger than this,” Mourinho told reporters.
The defeat ended Fenerbahce’s 18-match unbeaten run as Rangers secured a famous European victory.
Jose Mourinho told Rangers to ‘calm down’
PA
Rangers took the lead after just six minutes through Cyriel Dessers.
Alexander Djiku equalised for Fenerbahce half an hour into the match.
But it was Vaclav Cerny who proved to be the hero for the Scottish side, scoring just before half-time and again on 81 minutes.
Rangers had two further Dessers goals ruled out for offside after VAR reviews.
The visitors will now take a two-goal advantage back to Ibrox for next week’s second leg.
Despite the heavy defeat, Mourinho issued a stern warning to Rangers ahead of the return leg in Glasgow.
“The only thing I tell them is don’t celebrate too much because there is a second match to play,” he said.
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“If at the end of the second game they celebrate, I will congratulate them. For now, calm down, because it is not over.”
The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager remained defiant about his team’s chances.
“For me it’s not over. I know we are losing 3-1 when the game starts, but it is not over,” he added.