Mourinho believes his team can beat Bayern

MUNICH - Agence France-Presse

Bayern has the upper hand over Real after winning the semifinal first leg. REUTERS photo

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has insisted the Spanish giants can turn things around in the return leg despite losing 2-1 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal.

Germany striker Mario Gomez hit an 88th-minute winner on April 18 to put Bayern in pole position to reach the May 19 final at its own Allianz Arena stadium against either holders Barcelona or Chelsea.

After France winger Franck Ribery gave Bayern an early lead, Real’s Mesut Özil equalised before Gomez’s winning strike, but Mourinho says his team can hit back at their Bernabeu stadium in next week’s return leg.

“We have the second leg to come and it’s not like we have to make a historical comeback, what we have to do is very achievable,” said Mourinho, whose team are away to Barcelona in El Clasico on Saturday in the Spanish league.

“If we win at home, we are there. I am optimistic we can return here to play in the final. I think a more justified result would have been a draw, but that’s football,” he said. “It wouldn’t be the biggest turn around in history, I still think the team can do it, the fans will be behind us, just like the fans helped Bayern.”

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes was delighted with his team’s performance as they preserved their remarkable record of having never lost at home to Madrid, with nine wins and a draw in their 10 meetings in Munich since 1976.

“We deserved to win, it was a hard bit of work,” said the 66-year-old before singling out match-winner Gomez for his tireless display.

“He worked hard for the 90 minutes and won back several balls we had lost and he deserved to get the winner,” said Heynckes.