José Mourinho was a satisfied man after Real Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruña in a friendly, and the Real Madrid manager stressed the encounter had been a useful test for his players, particularly with changes to both personnel and formation.
Brahim Díaz settled it. His goal earned a morale-boosting 1-0 win on Wednesday evening in the Teresa Herrera friendly tournament, part of the club's build-up to the new season.
"It was a serious match against a team returning to the league," Mourinho told Real Madrid's channel. "This friendly tournament has great history and tradition, and the opponent gave everything they had and forced us to play seriously."
As reported by the newspaper "AS", the Portuguese added: "I had to make some changes, because I don't want to give the same players too many minutes. Today Fede and Arda played only 45 minutes."
Mourinho: the match was an opportunity to work and experiment
The win mattered, but so did the chance to try things out. Mourinho wanted to test ideas and personnel, saying: "This match was about winning, but it was more about working and carrying out tests."
"What I liked most is that in a match of this kind, and with the changes in players and formation, the team played to achieve a result," he continued. "We will play many matches this way in the league, and we managed to win it without wearing out the players excessively."
Several players sat this one out. The Portuguese pointed to them, saying: "You know the five who are in Valdebebas, and next week the serious business begins."
Rising difficulty of the matches
Turning to the nature of this preparation phase, Mourinho confirmed the level of competition would rise gradually. "The difficulty of the matches, given the way we have organised this period, is increasing gradually," he explained.
"We know how these tournaments are," he added. "For the home team, this encounter has a special value, but for us, playing a competitive match in this way represents very good training."
Real Madrid took plenty from the game, then, valuable groundwork before the official competitions arrive and the real work begins.