Real Madrid suffered its first loss of the season, as Betis scored in the final moments to secure a 1-0 victory.
Despite the result, José Mourinho had a different take on his team’s performance, emphasizing that the Madrid side was superior and created enough chances to walk away with the three points.
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The Portuguese coach highlighted Real’s strong overall performance, the missed opportunities, the saves made by the Betis goalkeeper, and his decision to substitute players who had already received a yellow card.
At the same time, he addressed the controversial plays and the yellow card he received himself, though he did not attribute the loss to the refereeing.
Here is what he said in detail:
On the controversial plays and the disallowed goal:
“I haven’t seen them in detail. I didn’t see them in the locker room either. I can’t comment.”
On Real’s performance and Espí:
“I think the team played a great game. Sometimes you lose and you don’t know how to explain it. We were very dominant. The center backs were dominant. We played a very attacking game. If it had ended in a draw, we would have left disappointed. Espi scored a fantastic goal; he’s important to us. We’ve earned points thanks to his work—he did well. He’ll improve because he’s humble and a hard worker.”
On the substitution of Güler:
“It’s hard to take Arda out because he was playing very well. The Betis players are smarter than the Real Madrid players, who are more naive. Early in the match, there was a clear yellow card for a player who fouled Valverde, followed by another, but we bounced back quickly. They’re smarter and, of course, with the support of a fantastic crowd, they manage to pull off things like that. I don’t know how Arda ended the first half with a yellow card. I had to take him out because he was in danger.”
On the substitutions:
“The team played well throughout. I haven’t seen the stats, but we created a lot of chances. We missed three or four clear chances, and their goalkeeper made three or four impressive saves. I didn’t make the substitutions because I wasn’t satisfied, but to take off players who had received yellow cards. It’s better to play with Trent and Diomande than with Dumfries.”
On the refereeing and the yellow card he received:
“I don’t know why I got a yellow card. I accept it. I stood up because a Betis player looked like he had collapsed right in front of the bench. I saw a lot of people disappointed with the plays, but I haven’t seen them and can’t comment. He let the game unfold, and that’s something I like. After the loss, I’m not going to say now that a yellow card was to blame. I might change my mind tomorrow, but today, based on what I felt on the bench, I don’t know why we lost, because as a team we played very well. I have nothing to hold against any player for his behavior. We deserved to win, but deserving it doesn’t earn you points.”
On the image of a “naive” team and Koukoureya:
“I’m very happy with my players. With all of them. Individually, I have nothing to criticize them for. As for the penalty kick… when one player steps up to take it, we’re all in it together. Koukoureya has cramps.”
*photo source: AP
