Spanish Football
The coach dodged five questions about the refereeing controversy at the Bernabéu... and invited the press to look into what happened in the first minute of the match
The first minute of the Real Madrid-Villarreal game at the Bernabéu
JOEL DEL RÍO
Updated
José Mourinho once again left an enigmatic message before the Spanish press. Asked repeatedly about the refereeing controversy during Madrid-Villarreal at the Bernabéu, the Portuguese coach avoided entering the debate and ended up inviting the Italian journalists to ask him about the match. Before that, Mou gave the Spanish press homework in order to understand his stance.
His answer, however, left a clue: "I invite you all to watch the first minute against Villarreal, just watch one minute, that's enough". Mourinho went further and urged the press to return to the matter on Saturday, ahead of the league match: "For those who know, the first minute is enough", he challenged the press at Rome's Olympic Stadium.
The 1:04 of discord
But, what exactly happened in that minute? The reference points to 1:04 of the match, a moment that takes on special relevance in light of his words. Upon reviewing the first five minutes, the only action that raises doubts is an offside given against Mbappé. Minutes later, the Frenchman was once again involved in a similar play... and the action ended the same way: offside against the French No. 10.
MARCA has been able to confirm that Mourinho is referring to the first offside called on Mbappé. An action for which there was no replay during the broadcast, but which also did not generate any doubts on the pitch: the infringement was called and the match continued. No. 10 dropped deep to receive and, although the live review cannot confirm whether or not he was offside, the ball ended up in Villarreal's possession. A dubious offside in which the Frenchman had no chance of creating any kind of danger.
The key lies in the Portuguese coach's interpretation of that decision. Without being certain whether or not the forward was in an illegal position, Mourinho suggests that the refereeing predisposition was to call against Real Madrid. That is, at least, the reading the coach makes of a play he considers revealing enough to insist that it is enough to review the first minute of the match to understand what would end up happening afterward.