Mourinho warns Real Madrid after Elche escape and rejects ‘irreplaceable’ Guler claim

Jose Mourinho criticised Real Madrid’s failure to control their 3-2 win over Elche, saying they allowed a side which appeared “dead” to come back into the game before securing victory in the final minutes.

Real Madrid had looked set for a comfortable result against the bottom club in La Liga, but were forced to work hard for all three points at the Manuel Martinez Valero on Tuesday in the sixth round of the competition.

The narrow win has raised concerns among Real Madrid supporters before Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

“Only three points,” Mourinho told Marca. “After the first half, we felt we would score three, four or five goals in the second half. But we reduced our intensity and gave the opposition too much space.”

The Portuguese manager said he tried to strengthen his midfield by introducing Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz, but Elche responded with a goal.

“In these stadiums, with this level of support, a team that looks dead can come back to life,” he added.

Mourinho said Real Madrid had taken significant risks late in the match because the players knew defeat was not an option.

“We have a lot of talent and took the maximum risk. The players felt we could not lose. We played very good minutes at the end,” he said.

He praised the unity and commitment within the squad but identified their failure to finish matches as his main concern.

“The players are together, motivated, and there is friendship and commitment,” Mourinho said. “My only criticism is that we can finish matches but do not do it. We gave a team that looked dead the chance to come back to life.”

On managing the workload during a busy run of fixtures, Mourinho said changes had been made to his team, with Kylian Mbappe and Ibrahima Konate the only players to complete the matches against Inter, Rayo and Elche.

“We now have to rest, then start preparing for the match on Thursday,” he said.

Mourinho also addressed Real Madrid’s lapses during matches, saying the problem was straightforward.

“Some matches look finished, but they are not,” he said. “The only explanation I have is that we see them as easy games and do not kill them off. We move from feeling comfortable to losing control.”

He added that full stadiums and strong home support could make such games difficult, although he was pleased with the team’s response when the pressure increased.

“The good thing is that when it becomes difficult, the team reacts and wins. That is the most important thing,” Mourinho said. “The other good thing is that nobody gets bored watching Real Madrid because the matches are very entertaining.”

Carlos Espi scored the decisive goal and Mourinho said the forward was highly motivated, despite the difficulty of playing alongside Mbappe.

“He is doing well and has great motivation,” Mourinho said. “In front of him there is an abnormal player, Mbappe. Playing them together is not easy because we do not have traditional wide players for a 4-4-2 system. In the end, we risked everything because a draw was not enough.”

Mourinho also praised Yan Diomande, who scored his first goal after 200 minutes and responded to criticism with his performance.

“He is developing. He has a tremendous work rate and intelligence,” Mourinho said. “It is not easy to play 85 minutes while carrying a yellow card. He did a wonderful job and I am pleased with him.”

The manager said he wanted Real Madrid to score freely but also to control matches and avoid gifting chances.

“We can concede from a situation unrelated to the flow of the game, but today the goals came because we lost control,” he said.

Mourinho rejected the suggestion that Arda Guler was indispensable, explaining that his substitution reflected the team’s loss of control.

“No player is irreplaceable,” he said. “Arda began to lose intensity because he was playing as a number 10, and that position requires covering the whole pitch.”

He said the midfield had performed very well during Real Madrid’s stronger periods, but concluded that the match had ultimately offered three distinct phases.

“Either we kill the match or we die in it,” Mourinho said.