Real Madrid coach José Mourinho praised his players’ performance in their 2–1 victory over Barcelona in El Clásico in the Spanish league, but criticised the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), saying it had failed to make a refereeing decision during the match.
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Speaking at a post-match press conference, Mourinho described the encounter as “a great match of the highest level,” adding that football fans had enjoyed it and that both teams had played to win.
“My team put in an incredible performance in terms of organisation, focus and courage against an opponent who presses aggressively. We could have gone 2–0 ahead when Bellingham and Mbappé were through on goal. Even after the score became 1–1, we never lost our composure,” he said.
On the refereeing, Mourinho praised the main referee’s performance but criticised the VAR official.
“I think the main referee had a great match, but VAR was asleep in the 60th minute. Cancelo deserved to be sent off for stamping on Diomande,” he said.
Mourinho also discussed the psychological importance of the victory, saying that being nine points behind was a significant deficit, while a six-point gap remained manageable. The situation would be entirely different if the gap narrowed to three points. He stressed that the victory was achieved calmly and deservedly, rather than through luck.
He also emphasised that he had a well-rounded squad, praising substitute goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who was called into action because Thibaut Courtois was absent due to illness.
“Lunin does not train to be a substitute. We have the best goalkeeper in the world, but we do not cry when he is absent. The team is united. Valverde played for 40 minutes while injured; he wanted to continue and gave everything he had. I have substitutes who can start without any problem, such as Camavinga, who created the winning goal,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho also praised left-back Marc Cucurella for his role in limiting the threat posed by Lamine Yamal, noting how difficult it was to contain a player of his ability.
“Cucurella faced a great player who is also his international teammate, and he is difficult to stop. Yamal tried everything he could to get Cucurella booked, but Cucurella endured it and received constant support from Diomande. Cucurella played the toughest match of his career,” he said.
