Mourinho: “Sometimes you lose and don’t know why or how to explain it”

José Mourinho analyzed the Liga match against Betis in the press room at the La Cartuja stadium: “The team played a great match. Sometimes you lose and don’t know why or how to explain it. We were very dominant, the center-backs were imperial and controlled absolutely everything. A lot of offensive play and many goal-scoring opportunities. If the match ends in a draw, we leave frustrated because we did more, so imagine how we feel with the loss. The team was solid throughout. Betis had some counterattacks, which is normal. The match was Madrid's. Betis, who played for the draw, hit the jackpot.”

“I haven’t seen the statistics, but I imagine we had possession, which doesn’t mean much, but we created a lot. We had 10, 15, or 18 shots on goal, I don’t know. We missed three, and their goalkeeper made four incredible saves. I might change my opinion after watching the match tomorrow, but from the bench today, I don’t know why we lost. I can’t justify it. Collectively, the team played very well in all aspects. Individually, they also played very well. I have nothing to reproach any player for their attitude; quite the opposite. Everyone gave their all. We clearly deserved to win, but deserving doesn’t give you points.”

The two controversial plays at the end of the match
“I haven’t seen the two controversial plays in detail in the locker room, so I can’t comment.”

Carlos Espí
“He’s a boy who comes on for 10 or 15 minutes and scores a fantastic goal, which might or might not have been offside, but he’s an important player for us. We didn’t get points because of his work, but he did his job well, very well. He’s a boy with great potential and will always improve because he’s humble, hardworking, and eager to learn. I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Arda Güler
“It was tough to substitute Arda because he was playing very well. The Betis players are smarter than those of Real Madrid, who are pure, naive. In the first play of the match, there was a clear yellow card for a player who fouled Valverde, and then another yellow for a player who committed a major foul on Vini Jr. Madrid players get up immediately, while Betis players are smarter and have the support of a fantastic crowd that pushes, pressures, and achieves these kinds of things. I don’t know how Arda finished the first half with a yellow card after playing so much and committing a tiny foul, but then they were out to hunt him. I had to take him off the field because he was at risk.”

The substitutions
“I didn’t make the changes because I wasn’t happy with the team but to take players off who had yellow cards and to allow Diomande to play wide. It’s better to play with Trent inside than with Dumfries. And the penultimate change, followed by Carreras coming on for Cucurella due to cramps, was Espí for Valverde to fully commit to the last ten or twelve minutes of high pressure against a low block where we needed a reference player to give freedom to Kylian in between-the-lines positions.”

The refereeing
“I don’t know why he gave me a yellow card, but it’s okay, I accept it. I stood up because a Betis player looked like he was dead right in front of the bench. The penalty situation, the retaken penalty, Espí’s goal—I don’t know, I can’t say. I saw a lot of frustration on the bench from people watching the plays on the tablet. I haven’t seen them, so I can’t comment. It seemed like the referee let the game flow, which is something I like. In that sense, I always prefer a referee who lets the game flow. But the criteria for yellow cards in the first half… Betis reached halftime without a single card, and poor Arda, who only knows how to play, ended up with a yellow. I didn’t like that, but after losing a match, I’m not going to say now that it was because of a yellow card that we won or lost.”

What do you mean when you say your players are naive?
“Naive in the sense that, for minor things, Betis players try to influence the referee’s decisions, while Real Madrid players, in situations clearly deserving of a yellow card—for example, Valverde being stepped on—they stay on their feet. That is worthy of a Real Madrid captain. On the other side, there was that boy who looked like he was dead right in front of my bench—I thought the ambulance was coming, but in the end, there was no ambulance. That’s what I mean. And when you play matches against teams with this kind of culture, this kind of mentality, it becomes a factor against you. But I’m very happy with my players, all of them. As a team, I liked them a lot, and individually, I have absolutely nothing to reproach. As for the missed penalty, as I always say: when one goes to take the penalty, we all go together.”

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.