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Liverpool and Tottenham DO NOT want Champions League final against each other - Mourinho
TOTTENHAM would rather play Barcelona than Liverpool in the Champions League final and Liverpool would rather face Ajax, according to former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
Champions League: Mourinho makes finalists prediction
Tottenham made it through to their first Champions League final in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, overturning a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
Lucas Moura’s hat-trick was completed in the 96th minute against Ajax, leaving Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino in tears as the final whistle blew.
In the final, Tottenham will play Liverpool, who arguably conquered an even more daunting task the previous night.
Having undeservedly lost 3-0 at the Nou Camp, Liverpool needed a near-miracle to progress, especially without the help of Mohamed Salah or Roberto Firmino.
But braces from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum, with the help of quick-thinking from Trent Alexander-Arnold, sealed the tie on an incredible night at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp called his players “mentality giants” after the game, while Pochettino dubbed his men “heroes”.
Given the psychological strength in both teams, Mourinho, who has won two Champions League trophies, believes both clubs would rather be playing the other semi-finalists.
Speaking on Russia Today, Mourinho said: “I say that both of them, they have an incredible opportunity.
Liverpool would prefer to play against Ajax, and Tottenham would prefer to play against Barcelona
“Both of them come to the final with that feeling of: ‘We are unbeatable, we made the impossible be possible.’
“So I think both, they go with an incredible positive state of mind. Two teams from the same country, it’s something that from my personal point of view, I don’t like it very much.
“And I think the level of pressure is higher for somebody to lose and make a team from the same country European champion.
“Liverpool would prefer to play against Ajax, and Tottenham would prefer to play against Barcelona. Anything can happen really.
“Nobody knows Liverpool better than a manager who works in the Premier League. Nobody knows Tottenham better than a manager who works in the Premier League.”
The final at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano on June 1 takes place 20 days after both sides’ last league game.
Pochettino is especially happy with the long break, though, as he believes it gives him a better chance of having a fully-fit squad at his disposal.
"With our circumstances, [the break before the final] is good for us, because it gives us time to recover some players like Harry Kane or Harry Winks and to have all of the squad fit to play the most important game in the history of the club," Pochettino said on Friday.
"It is fantastic to have the possibility to recover the players and have the squad fit, to have more possibilities. For us, it is good today.
“Maybe for Liverpool, it is not so good. It all depends on circumstance, for our circumstance it is good.”