Jose Mourinho was extremely satisfied with his men's performance against Atletico Madrid in Saturday night's derby.
Real Madrid used a defensive midfield and looked to make fast counterattacks through Cristiano Ronaldo, Ozil and Benzema. The team had two chances on goal before scoring the opener on the 11-minute mark: Benzema controlled the ball, entered the box and defeated De Gea with a slightly lobbed shot. Atletico reacted fiercely and forced Casillas to spectacularly save shots by Aguero and Reyes, amongst others. Ozil scored the team's second strike in the 33rd minute from a strange shot that confused De Gea and forced him to make a mistake.
Atletico tried to breach the gap after half-time. Forlan put Iker Casillas to the test again in the 47th minute and the goalkeeper made a sensational save. Real Madrid kept trying to net another strike to sentence the match and Cristiano came close on the 65-minute mark, but his header went over the crossbar. Ozil devised all of the team's counterattacks in pursuit of a goal. Mourinho decided to bring Adebayor on for Benzema, and two minutes later, Di Maria came on for Ronaldo.
Real Madrid started to show exhaustion from their Champions League exploits in the final 15 minutes of the match. Mourinho made Arbeloa come on for Lass to strengthen the defence (81') and, when everything seemed to be over, Aguero managed to defeat Casillas inside the box, adding tension to the derby. Mario Suarez nearly scored in injury time, but his soft shot was grabbed by Casillas just before the blow of the whistle.
Jose Mourinho:
"My players showcased tremendous sacrifice for all Madridismo to see and feel. They gave their all on the pitch."
"I told my men history and tradition don't play the game before we faced Lyon. Every match is different and we had to do our best to win. Atletico grow more anxious to win a derby with each passing year. We completely dominated the match in the first half and they reacted emotionally after half-time. We managed to take three important points while lacking our full strength."
"The squad was tired and we couldn't afford to be less compact as a team. I knew the system I used today would keep us that way and also well positioned. This would help us to better control the match. I'm forced to use three defensive midfielders if I'm not allowed more time to rest."
"Casillas was fantastic. I would like my goalkeeper to have less work to do in a game, and he had a lot to do tonight. The difference lied in the physical and psychological potential of a team that spent all week preparing for the match, and that of a side that was tired. Even I was tired. We felt this exhaustion in the second half. We defended as well as we could and eventually won an important league match. It was a great victory. The championship is far from over."
"I didn't want the championship to end today and Cristiano Ronaldo is very important to us. We took the risk of playing him, but you have to take each match as it comes."
"The referee did well in a difficult match with a lot of pressure. He was very professional."
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