Mourinho says Real Madrid v Inter Milan is not decisive as Endrick faces five-minute limit

Jose Mourinho has played down the significance of Real Madrid’s Champions League meeting with Inter Milan on Tuesday, saying the match will not decide qualification and could be repeated later in the competition when the stakes are higher.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Mourinho said: “We will play a Champions League match tomorrow and, as I have said before, it is not super-important because it will not decide anything. It is not a knockout match and it is not a group stage as it used to be, when the group contained four teams.”

The Real Madrid manager said both clubs still had plenty of room for improvement and expected them to progress.

“We have seven more matches and I think Real Madrid and Inter Milan will qualify,” he said. “I think it is very possible that Real Madrid and Inter Milan could meet again in the future, when things become more serious. But this will simply be a match played tomorrow. Every point is important, and certainly a big team like Inter Milan will come looking for points as well. That is what we will try to do.”

Mourinho was also asked about the absences affecting his midfield. He confirmed that three players would miss the game through suspension, while refusing to reveal how he would reorganise his side.

“To be honest, I could spend five minutes going round and round the answer, but I will be honest with you,” he said. “It is obvious that these three will not play. They are absent because of suspension. I do not know whether the algorithm behind the fixture schedule is Italian or not, but it chose for us to play this match in this situation.”

The Portuguese coach said it was natural to ask whether Trent Alexander-Arnold could be used in midfield, but insisted he would not disclose his plans.

“Your question about Alexander-Arnold’s position in midfield is obvious, and it is clearly the question I was expecting,” Mourinho said. “But we are here. We have three, four or five options. We could stay here and talk about all of them, but in the end I will not tell you anything.”

Mourinho, who is back at Real Madrid after 13 years, said the club remained unchanged in its identity but needed to address the problems created by a difficult previous season.

“How would you describe the Real Madrid you found after 13 years?” he was asked. “I found a club that is always Real Madrid. I think that is enough. Real Madrid is Real Madrid. The team had a very complicated season in the past and, when that happens, there are many things you have to improve. One is the foundation of stability and the other is the problems. That is the main point.”

He added that Real Madrid’s objective was always to win, but argued that fixing weaknesses and building continuity were separate tasks.

“We always want to win: tomorrow, in every match and in every competition,” Mourinho said. “But I repeat that repairing the foundation when there are problems is one thing, while stability is another. For example, when you look at Inter, despite changing managers, there is stability. Conte, Inzaghi, Chivu, but the style of play is the same 5-3-2 with the same dynamics, consistency and transfer-market structure. That is stability.”

“Real Madrid must reach that level, but regardless of that, Real Madrid is Real Madrid. It is a club created for victories.”

Mourinho also suggested that Endrick could feature briefly against Inter Milan, although the forward is not fit enough to play a significant part.

Asked whether Endrick was ready, Mourinho replied, laughing: “Tomorrow he may be ready to play for five or 10 minutes at most. And that is all. He trained with the team for the first time yesterday. He has not played since we were in Budapest or Austria for a friendly match. He is not fit to play for more than five or 10 minutes.”

Mourinho said Endrick had been included because Real Madrid had fewer substitutes available than usual.

“But because we have many empty places on the bench there are supposed to be 12 players and we do not have them he is there,” he said.

He added: “Maybe Endrick will have to play for five or 10 minutes. He is an attacking player and he will play in attack. Do not worry, he will not play as a left-back or a centre-back. He will play there in the front line on the right, on the left, as a number nine or as a number 10 but he plays in the attacking line.”