Fenerbahce boss José Mourinho appeared to aim a thinly veiled dig at Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen after his side secured a confident 3-1 victory over Sivasspor on Sunday in the Turkish Super Lig, Soccernet.ng reports.
Goals from Anderson Talisca in the first half and a second-half brace from Dušan Tadić saw Fenerbahce cruise to their 22nd win of a highly impressive campaign.
Youssef En-Nesyri, Mourinho’s marquee summer signing from Sevilla, came off the bench for the final 10 minutes, replacing Edin Džeko.
Despite a recent goal drought, the Moroccan remains Fenerbahce’s top scorer across all competitions with 26 goals this season — 16 of them coming in 27 league appearances.
However, Mourinho was quick to defend the 27-year-old, drawing a sharp contrast with Galatasaray forward Osimhen, who leads the Super Lig scoring charts with 21 goals.
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What did Mourinho say?
The Portuguese manager subtly highlighted the fact that none of En-Nesyri’s league goals came from the penalty spot, while six of Osimhen’s strikes have.
“About En-Nesyri… He was scoring for fun,” Mourinho said according to GZT.
“He scored 26 goals without penalties. He went through a difficult period. He lost some of his strength during Ramadan but he started to regain that strength. He showed that he is back. We will have him in the remaining seven matches without a doubt.”
En-Nesyri last scored in a 3-0 victory against Antalyaspor in early March. Though his recent form has dipped, Mourinho insisted his absence from the starting XI in the last two games was a tactical decision to allow the player to recover fully after Ramadan.
Fenerbahce’s win ensures the title race remains finely poised. Galatasaray stay top with 74 points, but Fenerbahce are just three points adrift with seven games remaining.
With both Istanbul giants locked in an intense battle for the championship, Mourinho’s comments are sure to stoke the fires further as the season heads into its final stretch.