Sports
Mourinho Admits Real Madrid Struggle to Close Out Games After Elche Scare
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho addressed the media following his side's narrow 3-2 victory over Elche, a match in which the team squandered a two-goal advantage before recovering to secure the win.
Asked about the near collapse, Mourinho offered an explanation. "It's easy to understand. 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," he said. "When everything seems easy, you leave things unfinished. If the game seems easy and you don't put it away, then you drop off, you lose control, you misinterpret what was easy. Nothing is easy." He added that the players would get a day off to rest, but acknowledged the concerning pattern. "If we have periods of brilliance and others that are not proactive, just waiting, without intensity, of course it's worrying. But we won."
Reflecting on the match itself, Mourinho said: "Three points and nothing more. After the first half, we all had the feeling that three, four, or five goals 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 Guler were tired. Just as I was thinking about stability, they made it 1-2, and in these packed stadiums, teams that seem dead can come back to life in a flash. Then came the 2-2. But we have a bench full of talent. I took maximum risks, and we scored with a very strong reaction. The final stretch was incredibly strong. We did it."
On Carlos Espi's performance, Mourinho said the player is doing well and contributing, though playing alongside another key player is complicated. "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."
Asked whether Arda Guler was untouchable in the squad, Mourinho was clear: "No, nobody is indispensable. We were losing control when I made the changes. Vinicius did very good defensive work but was very tired, and Arda, playing in the number 10 role, was also dropping in intensity. I brought on a fresh Jude Bellingham and Brahim when we were 2-0 up, but I sensed we were losing control. That's what happens to us. Then we went for the big guns and pulled it off."
On defensive concerns, Mourinho said: "I'm concerned about every game, not just this one. I like my team to score goals every time, except against Betis. But I like to control games, I don't like to give anything away. Elche played well and changed their formation. We have a bench with many options, and in ten minutes we created some very dangerous chances. We scored, we won, three points, nothing more."
Mourinho praised young player Yan Diomande, noting his physical growth from increased playing time, along with his work ethic and intelligence. He also credited Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde for their performance in midfield, saying they broke the opposition's press effectively with quality, though the match unfolded in three distinct phases: up to 0-2, then to 2-2, and the final stretch.
On squad unity, Mourinho said the team remains committed and shows strong camaraderie. "My only criticism is that we could have killed games and we didn't. We gave an opponent who seemed finished the chance to make things difficult for us, and we risked two points. When I made the changes, just as we won, we could have lost."
Asked about managing a congested schedule with three matches in a week, Mourinho suggested it was more challenging for teams with smaller or less talented squads. "Ask me, and I'll tell you it's harder for Anselmi, whose squad will face more difficulties and plays on Saturday. We'll make some adjustments. We changed a lot of players today: only Konate and Mbappe played the full 90 minutes against Inter, Rayo, and Elche. Now we have a short gap until the weekend's match."