Mourinho: Güler made the difference, and I knew this

José Mourinho, the manager of Real Madrid, spoke at a press conference following the 4-1 win against Rayo Vallecano in the fifth round of La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Mourinho said about the big difference between the two halves of the match: "I can describe the match as a 45-minute game. During the 45 minutes, it was over; I knew after the match against Inter that the team did not have the physical and mental strength to play the second half the way they played the first half, and I expected that to happen."

The Portuguese coach explained that the drop in performance was evident in the final minutes, saying: "The picture that shows everything is the way Bellingham played in the last 10 minutes. He almost made mistakes in most of the build-up attempts, and there was difficulty in pressing and shooting on goal... I knew that and I expected it to be like this."

Regarding his decision to close the match instead of looking for more goals, Mourinho said: "It's simple, I want to win and I want to win by as many goals as possible. When the score is 3-1 and there are five minutes left, and you have a very strong full-back in Rayo who can create danger, I felt that the best thing was to close the door. The time for showboating and scoring goals for me had ended. After that, we scored the fourth goal, and that was better."

Regarding the change in the team's performance after Güler's participation: "Arda plays a lot when he is on the pitch. And I can say 100% that if Diomande hadn't started today, the first question in the press conference would have been: 'Why didn't Diomande start?' On the bench, there is only quality. Changes and substitutions will happen from match to match; Arda has a very positive impact on the team's style of play, and when he entered the pitch, he made a difference in the stability of the team's performance."

He continued: "I am a bit too old to feel the pressure. You have different formations, and sometimes you have to pray that no one gets injured, and at other times you have many solutions. Diomandé will improve gradually. He has very little time at a high level of football, and he still has a lot to learn tactically, but he has amazing potential. In one-on-one situations, passing, shooting... he gives us a lot of options."

Mourinho added: "Diomande can play in Vinicius' position, on the right side, and Arda can play there or in Bellingham's position. For now, I want to work on developing him."

Regarding Vinícius's condition: "In the world, Vinícius is better than ever. He is just one millimeter away from reaching his maximum speed, his ability to repeat efforts is immense, and this is part of a process he is still absorbing. Mentally, he is very strong, and he knows Real Madrid better than anyone else. He plays with great responsibility, which is the responsibility of playing for Real Madrid and for the Brazil national team. He is calm, and the goals will come."

He concluded about his work with the team: "I am happy, because we have been together for three months, although we can only count the period since the group was complete. What we are doing contains a lot of positive things. We are progressing step by step, and we are always trying to improve."