Mourinho hails Real Madrid's courage after late comeback
Real Madrid came from behind once again to beat AEK Athens in stoppage time on Wednesday, and Mourinho was in no doubt about what made the difference. Speaking at his post-match press conference, the Real Madrid boss said his players have a unique ability to deliver in the final minutes.
"We won the first game in the last minute," he said. "Of course I prefer to win more calmly, but these games in the last minutes... only we can win them. We... without me hearing a bleep... we have them in the right place when it comes to doing it. And if we do it, it's because we all feel that we can do it. The players have courage."
Vinicius did not force Diomande out wide, says Mourinho
Mourinho also rejected the suggestion that Vinicius had pushed Diomande over to the right flank. "Vinicius hasn't provoked anything," he said. "Diomande came to Real Madrid to be able to play on both wings, not just one. It makes no difference to him, it changes absolutely nothing whichever wing he plays on."
Asked whether he needs to use his left hand or his right hand more with the Brazilian, Mourinho joked: "Which is the good one and which is the bad one? Is the right the good one? I'd say... 80 per cent with the right and 20 per cent with the left."
Mourinho admits Mbappe penalty at Racing Santander was soft
Mourinho was also asked about the penalty Mbappe won in the league victory at Racing Santander, after the Spanish referees' Tiempo de Revisión programme admitted earlier in the day that it should not have been given. "It seems to me that it's a situation that has no consequence in terms of points," he said. "It's a game where, if we don't get this penalty, we win anyway by three, four or five. If we had needed to score more, we would have scored more, but the team didn't want more.
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"It's not as if we're talking about a game like others in this league where decisions have had an influence on the result. We're talking about a 'penaltito' [little penalty], I confess, because it's the kind the referee gives thinking it's a penalty... thinking about the decision. For me, it's a penalty, but if it's given against me, I'm not happy. But we're talking about a game with no story. What are we talking about? We could have scored five and had no doubt whatsoever. Let's talk about games where decisions have a big impact. In this game, zero."
What comes next for Real Madrid?
Real Madrid now have 12 points, and Mourinho wants another seven or eight to avoid the play-off round. Next up is a trip to Valencia on Saturday, with Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konate, Aurelien Tchouameni and Arda Guler set to come in.
The win also took Mourinho to 87 Champions League victories, one more than Arsene Wenger, leaving only Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti ahead of him.