Jose Mourinho was honest about Real Madrid’s lack of control after a scare against Elche.
Madrid again lost their composure against a lesser LaLiga side and gave up a 2-0 lead only to score in stoppage time through Carlos Espi.
The scenes were similar against Rayo Vallecano last time out which Mourinho argued was planned energy conservation.
However, against Elche, he admitted things weren’t ideal.
Mourinho admits worries over a lack of control
“It seems obvious to me. It’s easy to understand,” he said.
“These are games that are already decided, where we have chances to finish them off and we don’t.
“After not finishing them off, we go from having it easy to not controlling the game.
“We didn’t score. When everything seems easy, you leave things unfinished.
“The explanation I can find is that if the game seems easy and you don’t put it away, then you drop off, you lose control, you misinterpret what was easy. It can happen. Nothing is easy.
“The players need to rest; they have a day off tomorrow. If we play badly, from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge. If we have periods of brilliance and others that are not proactive, just waiting, without intensity… Of course it’s worrying. But we won.”
Making the point again in the mixed zone, he again talked about a lack of intensity, but applauded his side’s late show.
Mourinho added: “Three points and nothing more. It’s just like ‘Hala Madrid’ and nothing more.
“Obviously, after the first half, we all had the feeling that three, four, or five would come in the second. But we lowered the intensity, gave them too much space, and when Bellingham and Brahim came on, I tried to give the midfield some stability because Vinicius and Güler were tired.
“But just when I was thinking about stability, they made it 1-2, and in these packed stadiums, teams that seem dead… in a flash, they’re back to life. Then came the 2-2.
“But we have a bench full of talent, and different kinds of talent. I took maximum risks… but a draw isn’t enough. And we scored with a very strong reaction. With that feeling that we couldn’t drop points. The final stretch was incredibly strong. We did it.”
Mourinho applauds Espi
Espi was obviously the headline again as he outshone Mbappe and Vinicius, and Mourinho applauded the late sub.
“He’s doing well, he’s contributing to the team,” he said.
“He has an exceptional player ahead of him [Vinicius]. Playing with both of them together isn’t easy. Otherwise, we don’t have players on the wings to be fast, and the team loses its balance.
“With the substitutions at the end, I risked everything. We won, we could have lost, but we had to do it.”
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