José Mourinho laid bare his emotions after returning to the Santiago Bernabéu as Real Madrid manager for the first time in 13 years. Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad 4-1 on Wednesday evening in a rescheduled first-round fixture from the Spanish league.
Asked about the feeling of sitting in the Bernabéu dugout again, Mourinho said: "This is much more beautiful, this is more wonderful and exciting. But winning is a wonderful and enjoyable thing. Before the match, I tell you the truth, after all these years I have become somewhat calmer. But yes, there is always that adrenaline before the match, but I was very calm."
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Kylian Mbappé's hat-trick drew glowing praise. Mourinho said: "There is something I don't much like, but I have to do it. I don't much like talking about individuals, as the credit goes to the team as a whole, but what Kylian Mbappé did is crazy. Kylian has very high quality."
Pushed on Jude Bellingham, Mourinho told the journalist: "I told you earlier that I don't like talking about individuals, but I just did that, and now you come back to ask me again. If we talk about Jude, and about Vini, we have to talk about Bernardo and Federico."
He added: "The two centre-backs were very dominant. The team was good, but we cannot hide the fact that we have players of a very high calibre, who played and worked and were united. We have great players who made me enjoy myself, not just as a coach of course, but as someone who loves football. The things they did were top class."
Real Madrid had opened their season with a last-gasp 2-1 win at Espanyol last Saturday. The Bernabéu faithful then lapped up an emphatic display against Real Sociedad.
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