Portuguese coach José Mourinho, manager of Real Madrid, made his statements following the dramatic victory against Espanyol on Saturday evening, in his first La Liga match of the 2026/2027 season. He commented on the referee's performance, the racism faced by Vinícius Júnior, and praised several of his players.
Mourinho said in remarks published by the Spanish newspaper "Marca": "I believe we deserved to win, but Espanyol did not deserve to lose. We controlled the match well, pressed strongly, and took many risks. I think we deserved the victory, but a team that plays like Espanyol, defends in this manner, launches dangerous counter-attacks, and is so well-organized, I believe it is difficult for them to leave with a defeat."
Regarding defensive intensity, he added: "When talking about defense, there is one thing I can never ignore, which is physical fitness. As for Espanyol, I believe they didn't have any players ready during the World Cup, and the team has worked together for a long time, and this is evident."
He pointed out: "I didn't expect Bellingham to be able to play for such a long duration. When it comes to pressing in the way I prefer, we lack sufficient training minutes and playing time. That is why this victory will be very important for us. It was a win thanks to the substitutes. Frustrated substitutes are of no use at all, whereas motivated substitutes are the ones who can secure victory."
Concerning Vinícius Júnior, he commented: "I fear you will return to my statements from months ago when I was opposing Vinícius. Now Vinícius is my player. He is not an angel or a saint, but what is being done to him is exaggerated. In the first minute, it repeats from one opponent to another; I commit a foul against him, then another commits a foul against him. If I receive a yellow card, another player comes and fouls him. If I am substituted, another player enters without a yellow card just to foul him!"
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He continued: "He must exercise self-control, and I told him that if he scores a goal, he must be careful with his celebration. We live in a social era against bullying, yet with Vinícius, we still face bullying from opponents and from the crowds. We must educate and prepare him as much as possible, and that is all there is to it."
Regarding Bellingham and his position in the lineup, he elaborated: "He is very strong physically and mentally. For me, this is his position. He is a goal-scoring player. If he plays as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder, we will miss his presence in front of the goal. I am impressed with him at this stage; when he is at his peak physical condition, he delivers 90 minutes of good work."
He noted: "Today we started with Bernardo and Valverde behind him, and we slightly missed Vini's offensive effectiveness, such as that shot that hit the post. If he plays with Tchouaméni or Camavinga, he will be able to reach that position more frequently. With Bernardo Silva, we have the playmaker role, and we miss Vini a bit. We are still getting to know each other, and it is better to do so without losing anything."
Concerning Carlos Espejo, who scored the winning goal, he continued: "He is a very cheerful person. We live together at the training center; we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together—me, my staff, him, and Cucurella. He is truly a cheerful person. Imagine, tomorrow is his presentation day. What an honor to be presented before the president and his family! He is living a dream, but he doesn't act as if he is in another world."
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He emphasized: "Espejo works incredibly hard. He makes a heel pass that allows Kylian Mbappé a shooting opportunity at the goal; he is an excellent player. When we heard that Gonzalo might move to Fulham, Johnny suggested some names, and we discussed various attributes. After analyzing them well, we are very happy with him. We need him in matches like these."
Regarding the match referee, Mourinho affirmed: "I believe the referee had a great match. I am not saying this because we won; I am saying this from the bench. Perhaps tomorrow I will watch the match from my office and change my mind, but I think he did an excellent job without VAR. There was nothing in the penalty area, nothing that could decide the match or the victory."
On how he manages such a large number of new players, he answered: "The difficult part is starting the match with eleven starters while having twelve players on the bench, in addition to injuries. If we don't have enough available players, we will have to keep some at home."
He concluded: "I told the players that I cannot solve this problem, and that I cannot start a match with 14 or 15 players. They are the ones who will become frustrated. If they do not give their best, if they lose motivation... I am not saying we won thanks to the five players who participated today, but all of them participated to help, with high morale. I told them from the beginning that even in friendly matches, Real Madrid cannot afford to slack off in fighting for victory."
