The Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho, has assured after beating FC Barcelona 1-2 at the Spotify Camp Nou, on the tenth matchday of LaLiga EA Sports, that The white team “does not play to win at the Camp Nou” but rather “plays to win the championship”, after achieving a victory with “all merits” against “the best team” that leaves the distance in the table at three points.
When asked about the significance of the victory at the Barça coliseum, the Portuguese coach warned about the need to maintain the demands in the following matches. “If we win today and lose in El Sardinero, today’s victory will no longer have the same dimension. Real Madrid does not play to win at the Camp Nou, it plays to win the championship. We have to continue,” he stated at a press conference.
Mourinho described the match as “high level” and underlined the spirit of his players after the local equaliser. “We, with a lot of calm and organization, with the 1-1 score we have never lost our calm. For me, a great victory for the boys against a great opponent. With a referee who seems to me to have played a very good game, with a VAR that slept in the 60th with a decision that could have influenced the match, a clear red card from João to Diomande. But great game, for me, and great victory. The boys deserve it, a victory for the team that deserved it most. It is the victory against the best team. It’s Barça. “My players played a great game,” he said.
Regarding the impact on the standings, the Madrid coach celebrated having closed the gap with the top of the table. “From this game we could leave with three, six or nine points… If you go out to nine, from a psychological point of view, it is heavy. If we go out to six, we come out balanced, with a game to play directly at the Bernabéu. Going out with three points is different, and the way we win is also important. You can win, with luck, by defending a lot, and we won, I would say calmly and with all the merits,” he explained.
On the other hand, the Portuguese coach has praised the performance of goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who started due to the loss of Thibaut Courtois. “I have told Lunin that he trains to play, not to be on the bench. I told him: ‘Go out and play.’ He played a great game. We have the best goalkeeper in the world, but today no one cried because Courtois could not play. The group is very strong, it is very united. That’s five wins in a row, that’s it. Another game is coming up on Sunday, with a nice series of games. I repeat, I have a nice group to work with,” he said.
Likewise, Mourinho has highlighted the defensive work of Marc Cucurella in his pairing with Lamine Yamal. “We have two high-level left backs and it allows me to dose things a little. Álvaro played on Wednesday and ‘Cucu’ has been fresh for this match. He has played against a great player, his teammate and whom he knows well, and he has done a good job. I see the players well at 10 meters, seeing them on the line and not on TV. And Lamine is very good, very good. He is smart, he has tried everything to make ‘Cucu’ see a yellow card, but ‘Cucu’ has held up very well,” he detailed.
