Mourinho: I Didnai??i??t Expect Ronaldo To Make A Difference, Pepe Should ai???Behaveai??i?? As He Is ai???Not Even Portugueseai??i??

Former Real Madrid manager has severely criticized fellow Portuguese Pepe over his red card against Germany and demanded that the player ai???behave himselfai??i?? as he ai???not even a Portuguese manai??i??.

Analysing Portugalai??i??s 4-0 defeat against Germany, Jose Mourinho commented that Portugal have a history of failing against the big teams.

ai???If I go a bit back and I analyse the Portugal performances in the last appearances in World Cups and European Cups, Portugal doesn’t get big results against the best teams.ai???

He also commented on Portugalai??i??s captain and leading goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, saying that he did not expect him tomake a difference like he usually does.

ai???So to say I was expecting Portugal to win against Germany or to expect Cristiano (Ronaldo) to score 2 or 3 goals like he does many times, against other teams, I would be lying.ai???

But his sharpest criticism was reserved for defender Pepe who made headlines after getting into an alteration with Germanyai??i??s Thomas Mueller which ended with him being sent off mid way through the first half. The Portuguese accused Mueller of diving and head-butted him which saw him being sent off leaving Portugal two goals and a man down.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has severely criticised his former defender and blamed him for Portugalai??i??s humiliating defeat in the opening World Cup fixture. He held Pepe responsible for allowing the second goal and believes that it was his frustration that drove him to see a red card which took the game away from Portugal.

ai???I think obviously the second goal is his fault. He’s on a zone but he has to make contact with the opponents and he left Hummels and Sami [Khedira] completely on his own and nobody contacted him, no challenge and Hummels scored the second goal.ai???

ai???After that I think the frustration of the mistake comes up and after that loses possession with the pressure of Muller and after that we can say is not a real aggression.ai???

However Jose Mourinho believes that Pepe shouldnai??i??t have been sent off and commented that the referee might have been guided more by the playerai??i??s body language than the actual offence.

ai???Maybe he doesn’t deserve a direct red card but because, in spite of not being a clear aggression, there is a body language that many, many times pushes the referees to have these kind of decisions.ai???

ai???To leave a team playing with ten men for such a long time is obviously a big handicap for the team.ai???

Mourinho went on to question Pepeai??i??s nationality, reminding him that he was not born in Portugal and therefore to behave responsibly while representing the nation.

ai???The fact that is not even a Portuguese man, I think that should put even more pressure on him to behave in a certain way, which he didn’t.ai???

Meanwhile Germanyai??i??s Thomas Mueller defended his actions against Pepe by saying that he did not play for a red card. The German had been criticised for his theatrical fall but has come out and defended his actions.

ai???I felt a blow from his fist. But what happened after that I canai??i??t really remember, whether we were head-to-head or not. I just hope it didnai??i??t look stupid on TV.ai???

ai???I didnai??i??t want to cheat. I felt Pepeai??i??s hit. I canai??i??t influence a red card, and I was not playing for a red card.ai???

Cover image courtesy Pepe’s official Facebook account

Mourinho: I Didnai??i??t Expect Ronaldo To Make A Difference, Pepe Should ai???Behaveai??i?? As He Is ai???Not Even Portugueseai??i??

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