Real Madrid players were naive in Real Betis defeat –Mourinho
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has slammed his players for being naive as he suffered his first defeat against Real Betis on Friday.
Republic of Ireland striker Troy Parrott came off the bench to score the winner for Real Betis in the 81st minute to stun Real Madrid 1-0.
It was a frustrating outing for Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappe missing a last-minute penalty after Carlos Espi’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Mourinho blamed his players for being naive while praising Real Betis players for being clever.
He said: “Betis’s players in this sense are cleverer than Real Madrid’s players. Real Madrid’s players are pure and naive. In the first passage of play in the match, there was a clear yellow card on a player who hit Valverde. And a minute later, another yellow card for a player who committed a significant foul on Vinícius.
“But Real Madrid’s players get up straight away, while Betis’s players are cleverer, and of course with the backing of wonderful supporters who push and apply pressure, they achieve this kind of thing,”
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Mourinho also blamed Real Madrid’s inability to finish their chances for the defeat.
He said: “The team has always played well. Betis had a few counterattacks, which is to be expected. And that’s it, the game belonged to Real Madrid. I haven’t seen the data or statistics… but I can imagine that we’ve done… not just possession, because possession often means nothing, but we’ve created a lot of chances.
“We’ve had, I don’t know, 10, 15, 18 shots on goal. We missed three or four clear chances.
The goalkeeper made three or four impressive saves. The substitutions weren’t because I wasn’t happy with the team, but to take off the players who had yellow cards. And for the combination play with Diomande, who plays wide, it’s better to play with Trent, who plays inside, than with Dumfries. And then, the last substitution.”
Mourinho will be hoping Real Madrid will bounce back when they take on Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Barcelona have the opportunity to go three points clear of Real Madrid with a win over Valencia on Saturday.
