Raul questions Real Madrid display as Jose Mourinho defends ‘crazy’ win over Inter Milan

Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez criticised aspects of his former side’s performance after their 2-1 Champions League victory over Inter Milan, prompting an irritated response from manager Jose Mourinho during a post-match broadcast on Movistar.

The result gave Real Madrid three points in their opening Champions League match, but sections of the club’s support were unconvinced by the performance. Real Madrid created several clear opportunities yet appeared vulnerable during the closing stages, particularly after Inter Milan pulled a goal back.

Raul was making his first appearance as a Movistar pundit while reviewing the match. He acknowledged the importance of the result but said the victory had not been straightforward against an Inter Milan side with a highly developed structure.

“The best thing is that we got the three points. It was not easy because Inter Milan are a team with a very sophisticated structure, and Real Madrid were missing players in midfield,” Raul said.

He also offered an initial explanation for why Real Madrid had struggled late on, pointing to mistakes during the construction of attacks and the uncertainty created by Inter Milan’s goal.

“Madrid’s goals came from mistakes in building attacks, and then they had very clear chances. Inter’s goal created some doubts at the end, but it is a good result to start the season,” he added.

According to Marca, the broadcast then switched to Santiago Bernabeu, where Mourinho was waiting to give his first assessment of the match for Movistar. After being told about Raul’s analysis, the Portuguese manager appeared displeased.

At the end of his comments, Mourinho looked directly into the camera and replied: “It was not all criticism, we did some good things too.”

Mourinho briefly misspoke and spoke in Italian before continuing his assessment of a match he considered far more open than the scoreline suggested.

“I prefer to say it was a crazy game. There is a lot of criticism when the game is boring, but it was crazy today… It could easily have ended 7-6. Our midfield was weak, and they made changes very early. I did not have much to do in midfield,” Mourinho said.

The Real Madrid manager explained that he had reacted when he saw his players facing difficult situations, while insisting that their overall contribution deserved recognition.

“When I saw the players in a difficult situation, I made changes, but I think the players gave a great performance. The game was not boring; we had chances to score a third goal in the last minute of the first half, but I agree with Raul that the goals came as a result of their mistakes,” he said.

Mourinho then defended the work carried out by his players without the ball, highlighting the role of preparation and effort in the team’s pressing.

“But I want to praise my players because pressing is something that is trained, how to press, where to press, working hard, and Valverde’s goal was all the result of hard work. It is not just criticism; we did some good things,” he added.

Despite the late pressure from Inter Milan, Real Madrid held on to begin their Champions League campaign with victory. The match nevertheless left the team’s display open to debate, with Raul’s comments and Mourinho’s response providing the central talking point after the final whistle.