Mourinho: We won calmly and deservedly, and this is my opinion on Yamal

Real Madrid manager José Mourinho appeared at a press conference after the 2-1 victory in the El Clásico in the tenth round of La Liga at Spotify Camp Nou.

The coach said: "At the beginning, I think it was a wonderful and high-level match, and surely football fans around the world stopped to watch it, and they were not disappointed by two teams playing to win. As for us, it is my duty to talk about my players, who delivered an exceptional match. They were very organized, focused, and showed strong character in playing out from the back against a team that pressed hard."

He added: "We had chances to score the second goal and make it 2-0, especially at the start of the second half, when Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé had a two-on-one situation. It's natural for Barcelona to respond strongly when they are behind, but we never lost our calm."

He emphasized: "It is a big victory for the players against a strong opponent, led by a referee who had a great match, but the video technology was asleep in the 60th minute, in a decision that could have greatly affected the course of the match, as a red card should have been clearly shown to João Cancelo for his challenge on Diomande. Nevertheless, it was a great match and a big victory, and the players deserve this win."

He continued: "This was a match from which we could have emerged with a margin of three, six, or nine points. Clearly, coming away with a nine-point lead would have created significant psychological pressure, while a six-point lead would have balanced the situation, with a direct confrontation remaining at the Santiago Bernabéu. However, coming away with a three-point margin is a completely different matter, as is the manner in which we achieved the victory; you can win by luck, but we won calmly and fully deservedly."

Regarding Silva's inclusion in the starting lineup: "I have only been here for three months and a few days. Although I know him well, knowing a player is different from knowing how to integrate him into the team's system. Our group is very strong, and I would never say that this is the fixed starting lineup or that there is a player who cannot be replaced, because we have a wonderful and complete squad, and everyone is working hard and preparing to participate."

And he continued: "This is the nature of football. You have asked me two questions so far, and no one has asked me about the colors, but if we had lost the match due to mistakes from him, the first or second question would have been about him. All I told him was: You train to play, not to sit on the bench, so go and play. He had a very balanced match and showed great calmness; we have the best goalkeeper in the world, but none of us cried today because of the absence of Thibaut Courtois. Our group is very strong and cohesive, even in the toughest moments. We have achieved five consecutive victories, and that’s all there is to it."

Speaking about the importance of the match against Racing on Sunday: "We have another match on Sunday, part of a nice series of away games; we will play away from home, then on Wednesday away again, and after that, we will have another gift, which is a new away match on Saturday. There is another name I cannot ignore, which is Federico Valverde, who played for over 40 minutes while injured. He got injured, but he wanted to continue and keep playing and reach his limits, giving everything he had during the time he was on the pitch."

Regarding the winning goal created by Camavinga: "Camavinga, like the rest of the players, is a key player. Everyone trains to participate, but the final decision rests with the coach. Sometimes the coach needs to make changes, and then looks to the bench and finds himself with limited options. Many coaches struggle because they lack solutions or cannot implement their ideas, but I have a bench rich in options. Camavinga had an exceptional match against Leipzig, but he sat on the bench today. When Flick brought on Frenkie de Jong, a player with great physical ability, to face Bernardo, who had been working hard against Pedri for a long time, I realized that the match needed players capable of maintaining pressure and moving quickly in counter-attacks."

Camavinga stated: "I told him that Aurélien Tchouaméni would take up his position due to his characteristics, and also because he received a yellow card, while Camavinga had to attack the spaces. This is difficult against Barcelona, as you often move forward only to find yourself offside, or discover that the goalkeeper is advanced from his line. However, when the movement comes from a player making a run from the second line, as Camavinga did, it becomes more challenging for the opponent. Things went well, and the team put in a great performance; I believe we deserved more than that."

He noted: "This was the hardest match, against a competitor with higher quality, a team that had not lost in the league. For us, this victory was the match in which we delivered our most complete performance; in fact, we have improved a lot in recent matches, and we should not hide that. But regarding the two victories we have achieved, I do not want to go back to talking about the Atlético Madrid match; the Betis match was the one where we created the most chances away from home. We missed a lot of opportunities, and a goal by Isbi was disallowed for offside by a margin of one millimeter. Therefore, it cannot be said that we were catastrophic. The group is in good shape, and there is great understanding among all the players. Those who sit outside the pitch support their teammates inside; it is a wonderful group to work with."

He added: "These groups become special when they unite in times of difficulty. When we lost to Atlético Madrid, everyone forgot the details of how we lost after just one day. Calmness and continuing to work, that's all. We have to look forward to the next match; it's a big win, but when we return to training, I won't allow the players to live in a dream world because of the victory. If we won today and then lost at El Sardinero, the final result would be the same. Real Madrid doesn't play just to win at Camp Nou, but to win the championship. Therefore, we have to keep working."

Speaking about Marc Cucurella and Diomande's performance against Yamal: "We have two left-backs at a high level, which allows me to distribute playing minutes between them. Carreras played on Wednesday, which allowed Cucurella to rest and enter today's match in good physical condition, fully focused on the encounter. Naturally, he faced a great player, but he knows him well as a teammate. I always say that I don't understand the true quality of players until I see them in front of me, standing on the touchline. Watching matches on television doesn't give me all the details, but when a player is ten meters away from me, I can perceive his quality better. Lamine is an extremely talented player, but he is also smart. He tried in every way to push Cucurella into getting a yellow card, but Cucurella held up well, with the help of Diomande, who rarely allowed Espert or Cancelo to outnumber him in attacking situations. It was a great team effort, but Cucurella deserves praise for his performance against a special player like Lamine."

He added: "Can we say that the team won today thanks to both the players and the coach? No, no, thanks to the players. This is the nature of our work as coaches, and that’s why coaches lose their jobs week after week. But this is football, and I am very happy that the credit for this victory goes to the players. They truly deserve it; it is much harder to be on the pitch and play compared to sitting on the bench and making decisions. I am very happy for all of them, as well as for Asensio, who underwent surgery just a week ago, but he wanted to be here today and be alongside his teammates on the bench."

He concluded about the changes he made in the last two weeks, both in midfield and in the position of Valverde: "I learned in the last two weeks that I have an exceptional group, consisting of players with the quality and mentality needed to participate. I also learned that combining different types of talents in midfield gives us more than relying on players with similar characteristics, which is why I will not depend on the duo of Bernardo and Güler in the double pivot position, except in extreme necessity. Likewise, the duo of Camavinga and Tchouaméni, which we finished today's match with, will not be a permanent option, but we will resort to it in specific situations. I like this mix, and I believe it suits the players in the front line as well, as it provides us with defensive balance, along with greater quality in ball progression and building play from the back."