Federico Valverde admits Real Madrid ignored Jose Mourinho’s instructions in Inter Milan win

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde criticised his side’s performance in their 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League, admitting the players failed to follow Jose Mourinho’s instructions to retain possession and remain calm.

Real Madrid secured a narrow win against Inter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday evening in the opening round of the league phase of the competition. However, the performance was unconvincing, particularly after half-time.

The result came only days after Real Madrid suffered their first defeat of the Spanish league season, losing 1-0 to Real Betis on Friday.

Valverde was voted player of the match after scoring Real Madrid’s second goal, taking advantage of an error by Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez. Despite receiving the award, the Uruguay international said Thibaut Courtois was the more deserving candidate after producing a series of important saves.

“No, I don’t believe that,” Valverde told Spanish broadcaster Movistar, in comments reported by AS. “Thibaut Courtois had a great first half and he really deserved it. He saved us.”

Courtois made seven saves during the match, helping Real Madrid protect their advantage as Inter applied pressure.

Valverde said Real Madrid had started the game in their usual style but lost control of the contest after the interval.

“We had chances, we were playing in our style at the beginning, but then we didn’t do that in the second half,” he said. “Especially at home, we have to impose ourselves more, keep the ball for longer and give ourselves the chance to rest, particularly the players in the back line.”

He also revealed that Mourinho had given the team clear instructions during the match, but that the players had not carried them out.

“He told us very clearly that we had to keep the ball more and remain calm, but we didn’t do that,” Valverde said.

The midfielder accepted that Real Madrid needed to examine their performance honestly.

“We have to be more critical of ourselves,” he added. “We know that we played a bad second half and that we didn’t play in our style.”

Valverde also pointed to missed opportunities and weaknesses in Real Madrid’s attacking play as reasons why the team had been forced to endure a difficult finish.

“We had chances, but without playing in our style,” he said. “Counter-attacks and mistakes… we had opportunities, but we suffered a lot.”

The Uruguay player was also asked about the Ballon d’Or shortlist, which was announced earlier on Tuesday. He said he hoped a Real Madrid player would eventually win the award and was pleased to have contributed to the team.

“I always hope that one of our players wins,” Valverde said. “And I’m happy to be able to contribute.”

He acknowledged that Real Madrid supporters had understandable concerns after seeing the team struggle to control the match.

“They have every right to feel that way,” Valverde said. “We have to improve and make things clear for ourselves.”

A separate item linked to the match reported that Kylian Mbappe had equalled Raul’s record while extending Real Madrid’s historic sequence.