Real Madrid defeated Valencia 3-0 at Mestaya and temporarily climbed to second place in La Liga with 30 points. Federico Valverde opened the scoring in the 28th minute, Arda Güler made it 2-0 in the 36th, and Kylian Mbappé completed the scoring in the 75th minute.
After the match, José Mourinho described his team’s performance as a “perfect match”. He stressed that all the players had been focused – both those who started the match and the substitutes.
“Today was a perfect match. Everyone was fully committed – those who played and those who did not. They know that everyone will get an opportunity, and that keeps them focused,” Mourinho said.The Portuguese coach also highlighted the way Real Madrid reacted after losing possession. According to him, the team had controlled the ball and had not had much defensive work to do, but had shown good organisation and a quick reaction during transitions.
Criticism of the schedule
The coach used the press conference to criticise the La Liga schedule. Real Madrid played three matches and made several trips in a short period, while after the match against Valencia some of the players are heading to their national teams.
“The players are physically exhausted. On Monday they have to be with their national teams, and by Wednesday they will still be recovering from this fatigue,” Mourinho said. He called for such a heavy workload not to be repeated with Real Madrid and insisted that the players be given time to recover.
Mourinho also said that victories at Real Madrid must be taken calmly. He described the dressing room as happy, but stressed that there was no place for chaos or excessive euphoria within the team.
“Victories at Real Madrid must be normality. When we lose, the chaos outside can spread around the club, but inside we must remain calm,” the coach said.Valencia finished the match with ten men after José Gayà was sent off in the 79th minute for a foul on Mbappé. Following the defeat, the team remains in the lower part of the standings, and its next match is against UE Tábernes in the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid drew level with Barcelona on 30 points, but the Catalans have a game in hand. For Mourinho, however, the important conclusion after the success at Mestaya is not related to the current standings, but to the squad’s reaction and its ability to remain calm amid the congested schedule.
Sources: europapress.es, lavanguardia.com, punchng.com