Mourinho's concerns, meanwhile, centre on the players who have racked up the minutes, chief among them the quartet of Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Cucurella and Diomande. They need a rest during the international break. Real Madrid have just played three straight away matches in the space of six days, with all the strain of travel and back-to-back fixtures, according to a report by Defensa Central.
He had hinted at those worries after the win over Valencia, urging national team coaches not to handle his players the way they had of late and to factor in the fatigue they'd built up.
The Portuguese coach said: "I must be humble, because La Liga holds the authority, and I ask them not to do the same thing to us. I don't want to describe it as something supernatural, because it is possible, but it is extremely difficult. And if they want to repeat this joke, let them do it with others, and leave us alone after the marathon of travel and matches we went through from Sunday to Saturday, it was too much."
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