Mourinho: "We controlled the game from the first minute and scored quality goals"

José Mourinho addressed the media in the press room of the Santiago Bernabéu after the match against Sevilla, corresponding to the ninth matchday of the League: "It was a good game globally for Real Madrid with many players at a high individual level. We controlled it from the first to the last minute and scored quality goals. We had a high percentage of possession, which is something that doesn’t always give you a real picture of the game, but today it justified the dominance we had against a good team, which we respected. It was a beautiful victory because we won, played well, and had many positive feelings.”

El Clásico
“There is Champions to play first, and it’s the only game we are thinking about. I won’t spend even a minute thinking about our opponent in the championship next Sunday until Wednesday at 11 pm. I have changed some things while maintaining logic. There were signs in parts of the games that indicated things could work well. Meritocracy is abstract because there’s no way to quantify which 11 players deserve it the most. Many people deserve to play, and today some stayed on the bench, later came on, and others didn’t leave the bench at all. For example, the one who scored the winning goal in Rome didn’t even play. We had more possession, more control of the game, created a lot, and got the ball to our wide players a lot. It was a very good game, a great game for Real Madrid.”

The Sevilla coach's comments on refereeing
“I don’t comment on them. No one has managed to show me what they say happened. I haven’t seen a single image. I’ve asked my analysts and the TV for images, and I haven’t been able to see any image of the things they are talking about that upset Luis. If one day something happens that I believe benefited us, I’ll have no problem coming out and saying it, but I think the opposite is more likely to happen because it’s the natural trend of things. If by Saturday someone sends me a clear and objective image of something I haven’t seen, I’ll address it. For now, nothing.”

Did you fear Arda Güler’s red card and that he’d miss El Clásico?
“I haven’t thought for a minute about El Clásico, only about winning this game. For a coach who loses by four goals and is given the opportunity to answer four or five questions about a case that isn’t a case for him, it’s fantastic because it allows him to talk about other things. When the situation happened, I looked at the tablet with Pedro, and I didn’t see anything. We wondered if there were cameras that could show it, and so far, nothing. Have any of you seen it? That’s why I don’t understand the obsession with so many questions about this story."

Valverde’s great game as a full-back
"The other day, half-jokingly and half-seriously, I said that if we had four Valverdes, they’d play in four different positions. He’s one of the most versatile players in football today. He can play anywhere and at a very high level. Today, he played a brilliant game. It’s not easy for a coach to leave two quality right-backs on the bench, but I thought it would be very useful to have a right-back with legs and quality to play behind Endrick. I don’t need to convince him of anything. He’s the captain of Real Madrid, and if he has to play as a goalkeeper, then gloves on and into the goal.”

Praise for Diomande
“He has a lot to improve and a lot of room for improvement. He’s young, naïve, and an unfinished product. At Real Madrid, the level of demand is very high. Instead of playing with the number 25 on his back, he’s playing with the 125 they paid for him. He’s growing and needs to improve his finishing. He often reaches dangerous areas and struggles to relax in the final moment, make better assists, and lift his head to see his teammates. He’ll get there. I remember a lot when Vini Jr. arrived at Madrid, and two or three years later, he was a top-level player.”

Refereeing in Betis-Barcelona
“I watched Leipzig. Sevilla’s work was already done. I often focus alone or with some of my assistants, and yesterday we watched Bayern-Leipzig. I swear I didn’t see it. Later, I heard the chatter, but it’s no surprise to me. It’s just another day at the office.”

Vini Jr.
“I don’t like doing it, but I do it because it’s an unavoidable situation. He’ll start on Wednesday, and the Champions is a way to keep him motivated so he’s not just training without playing. He’s fresh, and since he didn’t play today, he worked a lot on his fitness. Hopefully, things will go well for him as he deserves, and we need him. Leipzig isn’t the team that played poorly yesterday in Munich; it’s something else.”