Real Madrid

During his traditional post-match press conference, Mourinho commented that he is optimistic that his team will bounce back from Monday’s defeat next weekend against Valencia.

"I am not humiliated at all. This is the biggest defeat I have ever suffered in league play. It is hard to swallow because we never had a chance of winning. It wasn’t one of those defeats that leave a bad taste in your mouth because we didn’t deserve to lose or because the referee performed badly or because the ball hit the post. One team played as well as it could and the other played badly. It is a deserving win and a deserving defeat, which makes it easy to swallow."

"The difference between the two teams is a championship that will be even until the end. Barcelona is a finished piece of work after many years together. Real Madrid isn’t a finished product and needs a lot of time to be one. Today’s score is not the difference between the two teams. The outcome is a reward for the team that played well and a punishment for the team that played poorly. It is an easy score to explain and swallow. I am obviously saddened because no one likes to lose, especially by such a large margin."

"I hope this does not affect the players psychologically. I told them exactly that. That the championship didn’t end today. Who knows if we will return to this stadium again this season? Last year I lost here with Inter and a few months later we returned, qualified for the Champions League final and they got stuck at home watching it on television. We must have character. I always tell players that they have reason to cry with joy after winning important matches. You cannot cry when you concede four or five goals. You must be anxious to return to work and win the next match. I wish the Valencia match was tomorrow and not Saturday. After such a bad match you must go right back to work, play and win."

"We gave up two goals close to the net. The ease with which we gave up possession resulted in two goals that were our fault. Down 2-0 against a team that is deadly on the counterattack you have two options. You can settle for the 2-0 or you can try to pressure more. Barcelona played a fantastic match. I am only concerned about my team, which has played phenomenal football until now. Today we played bad and on Saturday we must prove that today’s score was a fluke by returning to our winning ways."

"This wasn’t a tense match. I didn’t feel I could really help. I tried to during halftime, but the game was over once Barcelona scored the third goal. I didn’t want my team to lose its balance and dignity until the end of the match. I knew early on that we had no chance and I felt a little helpless not being able to help accomplish what we wanted."

"I am disappointed because I expected much better, but so did the players. We expected much more. We all feel the same, but the match is over. There is nothing left for us to do. As of tomorrow, there is a lot. We must wait until the next match and continue two points off the lead."