José Mourinho has warned of Villarreal's strength ahead of Saturday's clash between the two sides in the eighth round of the Spanish league.
The newspaper AS published the Real Madrid coach's remarks from the press conference, where he said: "Villarreal are at a high level and play well, even though they do not currently have the number of points they deserve, but they will finish the season in a better position."
The Portuguese went on: "After losing the last match, we now need to collect points, although preparing for the Villarreal game was not easy because of the international break."
Asked about his line-up, he added: "Will Diomande start? And can he play alongside Mbappé and Vinícius? I will not answer whether he will play or not. I do not lie, and I will not tell you who will play."
Depth up front is no problem. "Real Madrid can play with any of their players in the front line, as we have a large number of high-quality players, but they cannot all play together," he said.
Balance is the issue. "If you want to field four forwards, you can do that. We played with six attacking players during the final minutes against Elche, but we cannot play with seven attacking players together if we want to maintain balance."
Wholesale change, though, is off the table. "During this first stage, we discovered many good things, and we also found things that need improving. But this does not mean radical changes are necessary. That requires work and time."
Mourinho stressed: "I cannot arrive here and after just a day or two say we will start playing with five defenders and four players in midfield, and we will change the full-back's position. You cannot do it that way."
He also touched on the pressure at the Bernabéu. "Real Madrid are going through a somewhat complicated period. And at Los Merengues, matters that are considered normal at other clubs turn into major issues."
And he put it down to the club's standards. "Real Madrid bear part of the responsibility for that, because they have achieved many victories over the past ten years, and before that too, so everything has taken on a different magnitude."