José Mourinho on Vinícius Jr.’s performance and emotions:
“Whether Vini is sad is something only he can answer. Personally, I’m very happy with both him and his performance.
People expect extraordinary things from Vini because of his ability to produce moments of individual brilliance. Tonight, he was closely marked and defended against very well, but he still performed well. Although he wasn’t particularly decisive, he delivered a balanced and composed performance.
I didn’t take him off because I was unhappy with what I saw. I have a strong bench, with players like Endrick and Diomandé who can offer something different.
You need to understand that I will sometimes substitute a player who is performing well because I want to change something in the game. Being substituted doesn’t automatically mean you’ve played badly.”
🤍 Mourinho on the support Vinícius needs:
“Vini needs the fans to show him love and stand behind him.”
⚔️ On Fede Valverde potentially playing at right back in El Clásico:
“I’m not revealing whether Fede will play at right back. I won’t disclose it now or on Saturday. All I’ll say is that he had an excellent game tonight.”
🗣️ On Camavinga and Bernardo Silva:
“Camavinga was outstanding last night. I trusted both him and Bernardo in our new midfield because I see how they perform in training every day.”
🌟 Mourinho on Brahim Díaz:
“There’s a player who hasn’t had many minutes, but every time I watch him play, I absolutely LOVE what I see. I’m talking about BRAHIM DÍAZ. He’s SO GOOD.
When I talk about the difficulties of meritocracy, Brahim is the perfect example. He absolutely DESERVES TO PLAY MORE, yet he doesn’t get many opportunities.”
📋 On the early leak of the referee’s name for El Clásico:
“I don’t like it when the referee’s appointment becomes public before it’s supposed to. I’m not commenting on the referee himself. I simply don’t like this information leaking.”
🗣️ On the difficulty of choosing his right backs:
“Leaving both of my right backs on the bench is a difficult decision. It’s not an easy situation for me.”
🤍 Mourinho on Courtois conceding late:
“Think about it from Courtois’ perspective. Strikers love scoring goals, and goalkeepers love keeping clean sheets.
After making incredible saves, imagine conceding a goal like that because the team becomes too comfortable and starts behaving as though the match is already won. That’s a terrible feeling for a goalkeeper.”
🗣️ On Bernardo Silva’s impact on the team’s control:
“Bernardo helps us control games better, just as Arda does.”
📊 Mourinho on the Champions League top eight:
“I genuinely believe we’ll need MANY, MANY points to finish in the Champions League top eight. We have nine points from nine, but that is still FAR from enough.”
🧤 On whether Courtois is the best goalkeeper he has ever coached:
“I don’t like making comparisons like this or selecting an all-time best XI. If I name Courtois, Julio César might call me two minutes later and remind me that he helped me win the Champions League at Inter!
What I can say is that Petr Čech is the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history. Yet, when a 20-year-old Courtois arrived at Chelsea, he became our first choice, and we went on to win the Premier League with him. That tells you just how good Courtois is.”
⚽ On changing the midfield combination against Sevilla:
“The Tchouaméni and Arda Güler partnership worked extremely well against Sevilla, so leaving both of them out of the double pivot for such an important game was a difficult decision.
But tonight, Bernardo’s performance made me forget about Arda, while Camavinga’s display made me forget about Tchouaméni. That’s how impressive they were.”