Mourinho praises Real Madrid’s efficiency after narrow Deportivo La Coruna win

Jose Mourinho said Real Madrid had gained valuable experience from their 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna in the Teresa Herrera friendly tournament, particularly because they changed both their personnel and their formation during the match.

Brahim Diaz scored the only goal in Wednesday evening’s game as Real Madrid continued their preparations for the new season. Mourinho said the result mattered, but placed greater emphasis on how his side handled the demands of a competitive fixture while managing players’ minutes.

“It was a serious match against a team returning to the league,” Mourinho told Real Madrid TV. “This friendly tournament has a great history and tradition, and the opponents gave everything they had and forced us to play seriously.”

The Portuguese manager made a number of changes during the game because he did not want the same players to spend too long on the pitch at this stage of pre-season.

“I had to make some changes because I do not want to give the same players too many minutes,” he said, as reported by AS. “Today, Fede and Arda played only 45 minutes.”

Mourinho said the fixture had been arranged not merely to secure a win, but also to assess different tactical options and give opportunities to a wider group of players.

“This match was for winning, but it was even more about working and testing things,” he added.

He was especially pleased that Real Madrid continued to pursue victory despite the changes made to the team’s shape and line-up.

“What I liked most was that, in a match of this type, with changes to the players and the structure, the team still played to win,” said Mourinho. “We will play many matches like this in the league, and we managed to win without overloading the players.”

The manager also referred to several players who did not feature against Deportivo La Coruna. “You know the five who are at Valdebebas, and next week the serious work begins,” he said.

Mourinho added that the level of difficulty would rise gradually as Real Madrid moved through their pre-season programme and edged closer to competitive football.

“The difficulty of the matches, with the way we have organised this period, is increasing gradually,” he explained.

He recognised the particular importance of the Teresa Herrera fixture to the host side, while stressing that the match also provided Real Madrid with a demanding and useful training exercise.

“We know what these tournaments are like,” Mourinho said. “For the home team, this match has a special value, but for us, playing a competitive game in this way is extremely good training.”

Real Madrid’s victory, secured by Brahim Diaz’s goal, therefore served two purposes: it delivered a positive result in a tournament with a long tradition, while allowing Mourinho to continue experimenting with his squad before the start of the official campaign. The manager said the team had benefited from the contest and would now move towards a more serious phase of preparation as the new season approaches.