LEVANTE 1-2 REAL MADRID
José Mourinho was keen to make it clear that he played a crucial role in Álvaro Morata’s development, after the 20-year-old scored Madrid’s winning goal against Levante.
Mourinho brought the youngster on in place of Mesut Özil with just a few minutes remaining and his decision was vindicated as Morata headed in the decisive goal on 84 minutes to give Madrid a narrow 2-1 win.
“The boy is very balanced mentally and I hope he won’t be affected by everything he’s going to read in the next few days,” said the Portuguese in his post-match press conference.
“I was the one who promoted him to the first team, who brought him on three pre-season tours, who made sure he didn’t leave the club, and who gave him a first team contract this summer,” he continued.
“It’s vital that Morata keeps growing as a player and as a person. He has to try and remain calm and take everything as it comes.”
Mourinho also took a swipe at the press, who in recent weeks have accused him of not promoting enough players from the academy to the first team.
“I’m responsible for letting Pedro León going, but I had nothing to do with Negredo or Mata leaving,” he reminded the journalists in the Estado Ciutat de Valencia.
“We have Higuaín and Benzema in the side but I bet the day I play Morata ahead of them you lot will say that I’m nuts. You do it every time there is a game, you analyse the players that have been selected, the substitutes. Morata has already played three games before this, and he made his debut last season. But you can keep talking and we’ll keep doing things our way.”
Praise for his players: “Di María and Callejón played superbly. We haven’t had to play a game in these conditions for a very long time and the team had to adapt, but we leave here with three crucial points.”
Cristiano: “He’s feeling a bit dizzy. He wasn’t just in a daze when he got hit, he was also feeling that way at half time. At the start of the first half he lost the vision in his left eye, and at half-time he lost vision in both eyes, so it was impossible for him to play on. As soon as we get back to Madrid, he’ll be off to the hospital.”
The waterlogged pitch: “This is winter football. Everyone who played football when they were a child loved to play in conditions like this, it was a lot of fun. It was much harder for us, but we had to adapt and change our style. You have to know how to play in these conditions, and being able to adapt to different pitches is vital. Levante had to do the same and they gave us a very tough ride, and it was even harder without Cristiano, but in the end we deserved to win.”
As.com
