Jose Mourinho: Spurs winning the Champions League would not surprise me

Posted Monday, April 22, 2019 by squawka.com

Jose Mourinho has had his say on who he feels will win the Champions League this season, revealing he would not be surprised if Tottenham Hotspur went on to lift the trophy.

There are now just four teams remaining as the competition reaches the semi-final stage, with the final taking place at the start of June.

Who will win the Champions League? Five things you need to know...

1. Liverpool progressed past Porto - winning 6-1 across two legs - to reach the final four.

2. They will face Barcelona who knocked out fellow English side Manchester United 4-0 on aggregate.

3. Tottenham Hotspur spoilt Manchester City's quadruple hopes by beating the Citizens 4-4 on away goals in a thrilling set of fixtures.

4. They will take on Ajax who have already knocked out reigning champions Real Madrid and Serie A giants Juventus.

5. The final takes place at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on June 1.

Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho has discussed who he feels is in the best position to get their hands on the biggest trophy in European football.

Mourinho - who has won two Champions League titles in his career, with Porto (2004) and Inter Milan (2010) - insists that he wouldn't be surprised if either Spurs or Ajax went on to win the competition.

"I'm really happy for both of them," Mourinho told Russia Today (via Goal).

"I always used to say that when you get into the quarter-final you are there for a reason.

"The group phase, sometimes you get a little bit lucky, sometimes your opponent is not as good as expected, sometimes you are lucky in the last-16 draw. But when you get into the quarter-finals, in a very respectful way, I always say there's a 12.5 per cent chance for each team [to win].

"When you get to the semi-finals it's even more, 25% for each one. I wouldn't be surprised if Ajax or Tottenham win the Champions League.

"Okay, maybe I would be a little bit surprised, but I wouldn't be in shock because they are in the semi-finals and one of them will go to the final and the final is a final, it's one game. It's 90 minutes, it's the game of a career for the majority of the people.

"I think they'll both be dreaming about it and they have good reason to dream about it. Ajax are giant killers and Tottenham - we can't say giant killers because City have no tradition of success in the Champions League - but they are a top team in the country and they beat them too. It's a 50/50."

Can Tottenham do it?

Spurs came through a highly entertaining tie against fellow Premier League side Manchester City midweek to secure their place in the final four of the Champions League.

After winning the first leg at home 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Son Heung-min - although they lost England superstar Harry Kane to injury - they had a big task of getting past City.

The second leg finished 4-3 - with a last-gasp goal from Raheem Sterling disallowed for a narrow offside - meaning Mauricio Pochettino's side went through on away goals.

The north London side will be beyond ecstatic to have reached this stage and almost as pleased to have avoided either Barcelona or Liverpool in the semi-finals.

However, Ajax are an extremely young, hungry and talented side who are looking to create their own history, having knocked out two giants in the past two rounds.

Spurs are two games from the final and just three from making history.