Chapter 723: Chapter 17: You Really Are a Genius!
"As a center back, his absence is clearly detrimental. Overall, I’m satisfied with our team’s defensive players’ performance, though we’ve scored fewer goals in recent matches, which is normal because our opponents typically only play one match a week."
Mourinho’s comments after the match were interpreted by some as suggesting he intentionally lost the match to pressure the club into giving Pepe a contract.
Of course, this interpretation varies from person to person and is subject to individual perspectives.
Some also mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored one goal in the last three matches, something Mourinho is not worried about, "He is a very important player. There’s no doubt he is at the peak of his career right now and will have a very wonderful season, I’m confident of that."
Mourinho also denied that losing to Osasuna was related to Chen Zhong not starting, "Apart from Chen, there are many outstanding players in the team, and we cannot ignore them because of Chen."
Mourinho lastly spoke about the second leg of the King’s Cup against Sevilla, urging Bernabeu fans to come and support the team for that match.
"Tomorrow, I hope Bernabeu can support your team as if welcoming a final. The fans know we need support; our sole aim is to reach the final, and of course in a positive way, not by throwing balls onto the field from the stands, because we are at the Bernabeu."
When asked about his views on Sevilla’s provocative video aimed at Real Madrid, he casually replied, "In my opinion, such videos will not affect me at all, and I don’t have any views or opinions on it."
Finally, concerning the upset loss, Mourinho appeared somewhat unable to accept it, feeling Real Madrid created chances but failed to score, while again stressing that this loss wasn’t due to Chen Zhong’s absence.
"In recent matches, we’ve played as a unit without conceding, even if we did, it’s no issue because we had opportunities to score. In the first half, Benzema had a threatening shot followed by a one-on-one chance for Cristiano Ronaldo. In the second half, we had many options, but with the opponent’s dense defensive situation, we weren’t able to score. The opponent utilized all their skills, and we also gave it our all; such a loss I can accept."
"We lost 3 points, losing somewhat unjustly. But the opponent played at a very high level, deserving this result." Mourinho continued, "I always emphasize to my players that if we lose, we should lose gracefully. Sometimes losses occur due to lack of effort or complacency, but not today. Today we lost because the opponent performed well; it was obvious they spent a whole week preparing for this match."
"I know that matches in Pamplona are never easy, few teams win here; this is a team very good at defense, and they handle the ball very well. If it weren’t for a controversial referee decision, Barcelona would only manage a 0-0 here. To deal with such teams, you need to play collectively and utilize wing attacks; we had scoring chances but didn’t finish. After Osasuna scored, it was very difficult for us to equalize. Congratulations to them for fighting hard and getting a positive result."
This press conference left Sevilla evidently the most dissatisfied.
Because they expended a great deal of effort to interfere, but the resulting outcome is that Real Madrid remains unsettled about the upset loss from the previous match.
Even the news about recruiting a replacement for Chen Zhong in the summer window has become even more heated.
This made them feel ignored.
Meanwhile, in Sports City, within Real Madrid’s youth teams, a French midfielder displaying outstanding performance received a meeting from the academy’s director.
His name is Paul Pogba. Standing at 190CM, he is dubbed as the "Little Monster" in the youth academy.
Of course, not everyone recognizes this nickname.
After all...
