Mourinho: Unacceptable to Play Champions League on Artificial Grass; Džeko’s Hat-Trick Leaves a Dream Night

On July 24, in the first leg of the second qualifying round for the 2024-25 Champions League season, Fenerbahçe overturned a 4-3 away defeat against Lugano, thanks to veteran Edin Džeko’s hat-trick. This was also Mourinho’s first game as Fenerbahçe’s manager, and he secured a winning start.

After the game, Mourinho said, “We ended our first game with a victory, and we will play the second match in Istanbul. With the passionate support of our fans, our goal is to win there and advance to the next round.”

Notably, the game was played on artificial turf, and regarding this, Mourinho stated, “Playing on such a pitch is difficult, the players are uncomfortable, they struggle when carrying the ball, and passing is hindered. In short, it’s hard to adapt. I didn’t want to talk about this before the game because I didn’t want to make excuses, but I have to say that it was a difficult situation.”

He then added, “It’s unacceptable to play games on such pitches, and playing Champions League matches under these conditions is equally unacceptable.”

Regarding the 4-3 result, Mourinho commented, “This isn’t a good result, with seven goals scored, people like goals, but we conceded three, which isn’t great. We conceded one from a set-piece, which I find unacceptable. Honestly, I don’t like that.”

Speaking about Džeko’s hat-trick, Mourinho said, “Džeko had an excellent game, scoring three goals. Scoring three goals in any match is a very important achievement. For him, a hat-trick in a Champions League qualifier is a very beautiful, dreamlike night.”