Jose Mourinho warned Real Madrid that poor results, injuries and criticism are inevitable despite their impressive 4-0 victory over Malaga in the third round of La Liga, while singling out Eduardo Camavinga for praise after what he described as an outstanding performance.
The Real Madrid manager was pleased with the result but stressed that his team’s progress could not be judged only by attacking football and a high number of goals.
“Our objective was to keep a clean sheet and work well. We cannot always attack relentlessly. Sometimes the opponent takes the initiative and we have to defend properly,” Mourinho said.
Real Madrid have scored 10 goals in their opening three matches, but Mourinho said he would be equally satisfied if the team secured a narrow victory in the future.
“We have already scored 10 goals in three matches, but we will win one of them 1-0 and leave just as happy,” he said.
Mourinho also explained that he planned to rotate his squad before the next match against Real Sociedad. He said he wanted to give opportunities to players with the same level of quality as those currently in the starting line-up.
“Rotation? That is my objective. I told the players that I would make a lot of changes before the Real Sociedad match. I want to use players who have the same quality as the others. It is the coach’s choice, not that one player has more or less quality, because everyone has quality,” he said.
The Portuguese also praised the team’s defensive work, highlighting an incident involving Vinicius Junior.
“We saw a team working well defensively, and we saw Vinicius Junior lose the ball, then come back to defend and win it back,” Mourinho said.
He added that supporters should appreciate all aspects of a high-level performance, not only the most attractive moments.
“It is important that the fans enjoyed themselves, but if people have an understanding of what high-level football means, they should also enjoy the second half,” he said.
Mourinho reserved particular praise for Dean Huijsen, saying the defender had made significant progress. He admired Huijsen’s ability to play out from the back and pass between the lines, but placed even greater value on his strength, decisiveness, confidence and ability to win duels.
“He was dominant and decisive, and this is the version I want,” Mourinho said.
Jude Bellingham was also described as a player who demanded exceptionally high standards from himself and his team-mates. Mourinho said he had not wanted the midfielder to spend almost the entire match defending like “a second left-back”, but called him “an incredible player”.
The manager then identified Camavinga as the player who had impressed him most unexpectedly.
“But today, a player who does not receive a lot of love played a great match, and that was Camavinga,” he said.
Mourinho insisted that Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham should be able to work together because top players naturally want to share the pitch and think at the same speed.
“It was said that the coach did not want the three players, but what I say is that I always want the best,” he said.
On Ousmane Diomande, Mourinho urged patience because of the player’s age and the expectations created by his transfer fee.
“How much did we pay for him? Usually, when a player costs that amount of money, people expect him to arrive and produce an extraordinary performance immediately. But he is very young and we have to remain calm. He is playing very well, but step by step,” he said.
Malaga’s complaints about the refereeing were dismissed by Mourinho with a brief response: “They do not deserve comment.”
