Mourinho says City as good as out
Real got their campaign off to a winning start when they came from behind to beat City 3-2 in the latter stages of their opening game at the Bernabeu two months ago.
Mourinho, a twice winner of the Champions League, said: “That game was crucial, for sure. If City had won that match the history would be different. We had a fantastic reaction in that match and those three points are crucial for us to be in a position where, I’m not saying were are completely safe but, we depend on ourselves.”
Given his past successes with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and now Real, coupled with the notoriously short shelf-life of the coach’s job at the Bernabeu, Mourinho’s future is often the subject of speculation.
The 49-year-old, who has regularly spoken of his love for England, has been linked with a return to the Premier League and again teased journalists by suggesting he could come back.
He said: “If I can speak of the beauty of my experience — the chance I had to leave my country to make the lap, to go around England, Italy, Spain and to get the best and worst of these experiences to make me a better manager. After that, when you have the experience of the most important countries, I think the normal thing is to evaluate, decide where you are happier and make the choice for the future.”
When asked if that specifically meant England, he said: “I don’t think it is interesting to talk about my career and my future.
“We are here to talk about a Champions League game. That is what we are here for and that is what we are going to talk about.”
In terms of coming back to the country with Real, however, he said: “I never hide my feelings, even if that makes some people not so happy, but I always said how much I loved my time here and I always like to be back.
“I know when you play in England you have difficult matches, difficult opponents, difficult atmospheres because the crowd is always very strong behind the team. But I like that, I enjoy that. Also my players are happy to play.”
Real will be without the injured Michael Essien, Gonzalo Higuain, Marcelo and Alvaro Morata at Eastlands.
