Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho spoke to the media after the team won 4-0 against Malaga on Sunday. He was asked about Jude Bellingham\u2019s quality and his performance from the night, to which he said: \u201cHe\u2019s very demanding of himself and others, and I really like that. I agreed with him that I didn\u2019t want to see him as a second left-back defending; I\u2019ve seen him do that a lot. We really exploited that situation with Benfica. We\u2019ve organized the team differently; he knows what he has to do, and he feels comfortable. I\u2019m very happy with everyone. But it\u2019s true that in the final stretch, we lost our shape a bit at 3-0. Some stayed focused, others relaxed\u2026 That\u2019s the feeling we all had. But this organization is what allows us to win back high balls without having to track back. It\u2019s normal that we don\u2019t have the energy or the mentality to do it for 90 minutes. I said that at Real Madrid there\u2019s more than one player who can win the Ballon d\u2019Or, but there\u2019s Jude. Of course, there\u2019s one (Mbapp\u00e9) who made history at the World Cup. But Jude, in midfield, is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA very strong first half, from a team that didn\u2019t want to waste any time and came out determined to win the game. The second half was more about managing the game, with a slower pace. M\u00e1laga wanted to be more composed and keep possession. But every time we accelerated, we created danger. We felt we could score one or two more goals. But as a team, a clean sheet was also a key objective. To defend well. You can\u2019t always attack with great intensity. Sometimes the opponent comes out and you have to know how to balance yourself, defend well. Today we did that. Three important points.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my goal. I told the players I would make a lot of changes before the match against Real Sociedad. That I would repeat the same lineup there, but in the next one I would make four or five changes. Not wanting to change the team\u2019s identity, but to bring in more players, more quality. Because they all have a very high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mourinho on Real Madrid\u2019s defense<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year I didn\u2019t watch much of Real Madrid, except when we played them three times in a month. Before that, I watched a game whenever I could. I can\u2019t compare. The problems will come, the defeats will come. With Benfica, I didn\u2019t lose a single game all last year and we finished third. I\u2019d gladly take losing a few games and winning titles. But the negative period, a less successful phase, injuries\u2026 that\u2019s going to happen. The problems will come. The criticism from the press, the negative reactions from the fans. We have to be very balanced and not let the negative impact affect the whole season. The team has to be united; that\u2019s our salvation right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mourinho on who gets selected<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult mission, not a one-month thing, but a season-long one. The frustration of those who aren\u2019t playing is something that\u2019s more in the players\u2019 hands than in mine. I can show that I trust them all. They have to manage it themselves. Today Trent and Cucurella played, and Carreras and Dumfries didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Mourinho on the chemistry between the superstars<\/p>\n
\u201cVery, very good players want to play together. With people of their quality, with their speed of thought and decision-making. They always have to be compatible. There was a lot of talk that Mou didn\u2019t want one player, then another, then another\u2026 I always want the best. If there\u2019s empathy, teamwork\u2026 I don\u2019t see any problem; I see that they\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs to take it step by step. He works hard and well. He\u2019s open and humble, he wants to learn, he listens to his teammates, he\u2019s going to grow. I can\u2019t focus on the 120 or 130 million\u2026 How much did they charge us? I have to focus on a player who\u2019s coming off a top-level season at Leipzig. When you talk about a huge number like that, you think of someone who arrives and blows everyone away. But that\u2019s not it, he\u2019s a young guy. Calm down, take it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to compare it to last year. I don\u2019t know the dynamics. What I have noticed is that we talk, because I like a center-back who has quality on the ball and can play passes between the lines. But for me, the important thing is decisiveness, winning duels, and giving confidence. He\u2019s improved a lot in a short time. I need to watch the game better at home, calmly, but I think he misplaced a pass through the middle and then did everything else well. That\u2019s the version I want. I like center-backs who defend well; if they\u2019re also good on the ball, perfect. But first you have to defend, and I see a good version of him in that regard. And his partner next to him also helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mourinho on Juan Francisco Funes\u2019 comments on getting fouls in the game<\/p>\n
\u201cFunes\u2019s comments about the difference in referee treatment don\u2019t deserve comment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho spoke to the media after the team won 4-0 against Malaga on Sunday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[82,621,1835],"class_list":["post-78059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-madrid","tag-madrid","tag-real-madrid-cf-la-liga","tag-real-madrid-cf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}