Real Madrid maintained their post-international break winning run as they faced RB Leipzig in their latest UEFA Champions League game at the Santiago Bernabeu. After yet another underwhelming first half, the Merengues won this game 4-1, with goals from Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler, Kylian Mbappe, and Yan Diomande.
As MARCA has reported, Jose Mourinho addressed the press after this game and talked about several aspects of his team’s performance in this game.
Vinicius Junior was once again significantly below his expected level in this match and his sadness was quite visible as he left the bench right after the full-time whistle. On the contrary, the Portuguese coach assured that he was actually happy for the Brazilian:
“It’s something very personal. I think you can have your own perception, but I believe only he can tell you how he feels. As a coach, I’m happy with what he has done. People always expect more from Vini, for him to be decisive, but I liked his performance.
He had more defensive responsibility than the other attackers, and he tracked back very well. It wasn’t a change because I wasn’t happy with him. It was because I have a strong bench and could bring on someone who could offer different things. You have to get used to me taking off a player who isn’t playing badly and replacing him with someone who can give me something different.”
The Real Madrid coach asked the fans to put their support behind the winger:
“Yes, he needs everyone’s support. He was booed away from home, and that can be motivating, but when it happens at your own ground, it hurts.”
Mourinho was not too revealing when asked about Fede Valverde’s role in El Clasico:
“I’m not talking about Sunday. You can ask me again on Saturday, but I won’t tell you whether he’ll play at right-back again. It wasn’t an easy match, and the 4-1 scoreline doesn’t reflect the first half. Fede played well.”
The Portuguese coach went on to comment on several other lineup decisions:
“He [Camavinga] had a great game. Obviously, against Sevilla, Arda and Tchouaméni did a good job in that area. I made too many changes, but I had confidence in the players because of what they show me. I really like Brahim every time he’s on the pitch. We’re back to the question of meritocracy. Perhaps Amazon could come up with something to measure that! Having Fede at right-back is frustrating for me because it means leaving two right-backs out.”
The Real Madrid coach once again expressed his displeasure at referees for the next match being revealed too early:
“This is completely out of context, but the appointment is officially announced 24 hours before the match. I don’t like this kind of information coming out now. I’m not referring to them personally.”
Despite the improved form, Mourinho was clear that the team is still not where he wants them to be:
“Nothing is exactly where I want it to be, but we’re doing some things better now than before. Today, there was a goal I didn’t like, because it left the match open for us to win. The goal we conceded today came from a situation in which the opponent was comfortable, and I don’t like that.”
The Portuguese coach was also full of praise for his compatriot, Bernardo Silva:
“He’s a great player and had a great game. Another player who hadn’t started for several matches. When the team has a player like him or Güler in midfield, we can play out more effectively and transition more quickly to get the ball to the attackers.
I’m very happy. As I said earlier, Tchouaméni and Arda had outstanding games against Sevilla, and changing them for a match we had to win was a difficult decision. I think we’ll need a lot of points in this phase of the Champions League to finish in the top eight, so we have to win as many matches as possible.”
When asked if Thibaut Courtois is the best goalkeeper he has managed, the Real Madrid coach refrained from taking such a position:
“I’ve never done that. I’ve never said anything like that about my players. I’m often asked to name my best XI from my 20 years as a coach. But what I can say is that Petr Čech, the best goalkeeper in Premier League history, was playing when Courtois arrived at around 20 years of age, yet Courtois played. And we won the Premier League with Courtois in goal. Čech, the best of them all, played only in the cup competitions.
“If I say this, Júlio César will call me in two minutes and say, ‘Oh, Courtois is the best, but you won the Champions League with me.’ He’ll call me in two minutes, I’m sure. I’ve always had this respect for my former players. But, you know… this guy is…”
As Jose Mourinho mentioned, although the scoreline reflects otherwise, this was still quite a difficult game for Real Madrid. However, the Merengues have an even bigger challenge awaiting them, as they face an FC Barcelona side that has not lost in La Liga so far this season, and hopefully, Los Blancos will rise to the challenge in that game as well.