RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 22: Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of Real Madrid looks on during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between RCD Espanyol de Barcelona and Real Madrid at RCDE Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Real Madrid coach José Mourinho celebrated his first win since returning to the club by beating Espanyol 2-1, but one of the hot topics in the press conference was Vinícius Júnior after a series of altercations. “I run the risk of you going back months to dig up my words from when I was Vini’s opponent, but now Vini is on my team,” he admitted. “He’s no saint, but what they’re doing to him is too much. From the very first minute, it’s as if there’s already a pattern. Now I’ll foul him, now you’ll foul him, one player gets a yellow card, another comes in without one… It’s incredibly frustrating for him; he must have a lot of mental control. I’ve even told him that if he scores, he should be careful how he celebrates. We’re in a social era of anti-bullying, but with Vini, we’re still in the era of bullying.”
Mourinho on the game
“I think we deserved to win, but Espanyol didn’t deserve to lose. In the second half, we maintained great control and applied a lot of pressure; we took a lot of risks. We deserved to win. But a team that plays like Espanyol, that defends like that and counterattacks like that, with players pushing themselves to the limit and good organization, it’ll be tough for them to go home empty-handed. But we deserved it.”
Mourinho on Real Madrid’s tactical system
“You can’t ignore the team’s physical condition when talking about the system. They didn’t have anyone at the World Cup and have been working together for a long time, and you can see that in their intensity. I didn’t expect Jude to be able to play that long. When it comes to pressing the way I like, we’re short on minutes and kilometers. That’s why I value this victory so much, it’s a victory with heart, and that includes the bench. A frustrated bench doesn’t help at all, but a bench with a sense of team spirit helps you win. It was a tough game; these are three very important points.”
Mourinho on Jude Bellingham
“When we talk about the best in the world, Madrid has many in that group. Bellingham, Vinicius, Mbappé… They’re among them. I had doubts about Jude, whether to start him or bring him on later. I don’t know if I made the right call, but he’s very strong physically and mentally. I expect him to connect with the forwards. He has a knack for scoring; he needs to play close to the goal. He can play further back, but then we lose his proximity to the goal. I like the Jude who, with top physical condition, creates those scoring opportunities for us. And Fede can also get into that position more often, but when he plays with Bernardo, he has to focus more on him, and we lose a bit of that. We’re still getting to know each other, but we’re doing so without dropping points. That’s what matters.”
Mourinho on Carlos Espí
“He’s a really fun guy; we live together there in Valdebebas—we have breakfast together, lunch together, and dinner together, me, my staff, him, and Cucurella. Tomorrow is his presentation; just imagine, he’s living a dream. But he doesn’t work like someone with his head in the clouds, he works incredibly hard. He has everything it takes to score; he’s an outstanding player. When we saw that Gonzalo might be leaving for Fulham, we analyzed the situation carefully, and we’re very happy with him. We need someone like him in these kinds of matches.”
Mourinho on referee José María Sánchez Martínez
“He had a great game, but from my view the bench. Then again, I might see him in the office later and change my mind. No VAR at all, nothing that could have decided the match.”
Mourinho on the new players
“The difficult part is that you start the match with eleven players and have twelve on the bench. I can’t fix that; I can’t perform a miracle, I’ve told the players that. We have to fight against the frustration of not playing; they need to understand that it breaks my heart to leave people out. If they don’t work hard, it’s easier for me. The five who came on did so to help, with a good attitude. That’s how it has to be. Not even in friendlies can Madrid afford not to fight to win. We’ll lose games, I hope not too many. But Madrid is competing in four tournaments and must always take them seriously. And you can’t do that with just ten players.”
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