Spanish La Liga: I have no team right now, says Mourinho
Real Madrid suffer worst start in 10 years; Barca stay top.
MADRID:
Real Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Sevilla as Jose Mourinho’s defending champions suffered a second defeat in four matches, their worst start to a La Liga season in over a decade.
“Right now I have no team. We are a team without concentration,” said Mourinho. “At half-time, I changed two players and but I actually wanted to change six.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was the centre of attention in the build-up to the game after he had claimed he was unhappy in the Spanish capital. But Mourinho insisted that the turmoil surrounding the Portuguese star was not a factor in Saturday’s defeat.
“I don’t think it has affected us. We played a similar game at Getafe and against Granada. It is more to do with a lack of concentration as a team. I think football is not the top priority for some in their heads at the moment, but I am the coach and so that is my fault.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona made it four wins in four games with a 4-1 victory at Getafe. Brazilian full-back Adriano grabbed an early lead for Barca before Lionel Messi left the bench to grab a double and assure the points for the Catalan side. Pablo Sarabia got a late consolation for the home side before the recovering David Villa also came off the bench to claim his second of the season.
Barca coach Tito Vilanova was happy with the result but concerned about Carles Puyol who limped off in the second-half.
“The most important thing is we have 12 points from 12, we tried to control the game and we could have scored a few more. We’ll see tomorrow how long Puyol will be out, it’s a problem, he gives us a lot of organisation at the back and is very important for us,” said the coach.
In other matches, Malaga beat Levante 3-1 to record their best ever start to a La Liga season while Valencia beat Celta Vigo 2-1. In an early kick-off yesterday, Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao played out a thriller that ended 3-3.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2012.
Real Madrid slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Sevilla as Jose Mourinho’s defending champions suffered a second defeat in four matches, their worst start to a La Liga season in over a decade.
“Right now I have no team. We are a team without concentration,” said Mourinho. “At half-time, I changed two players and but I actually wanted to change six.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was the centre of attention in the build-up to the game after he had claimed he was unhappy in the Spanish capital. But Mourinho insisted that the turmoil surrounding the Portuguese star was not a factor in Saturday’s defeat.
“I don’t think it has affected us. We played a similar game at Getafe and against Granada. It is more to do with a lack of concentration as a team. I think football is not the top priority for some in their heads at the moment, but I am the coach and so that is my fault.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona made it four wins in four games with a 4-1 victory at Getafe. Brazilian full-back Adriano grabbed an early lead for Barca before Lionel Messi left the bench to grab a double and assure the points for the Catalan side. Pablo Sarabia got a late consolation for the home side before the recovering David Villa also came off the bench to claim his second of the season.
Barca coach Tito Vilanova was happy with the result but concerned about Carles Puyol who limped off in the second-half.
“The most important thing is we have 12 points from 12, we tried to control the game and we could have scored a few more. We’ll see tomorrow how long Puyol will be out, it’s a problem, he gives us a lot of organisation at the back and is very important for us,” said the coach.
In other matches, Malaga beat Levante 3-1 to record their best ever start to a La Liga season while Valencia beat Celta Vigo 2-1. In an early kick-off yesterday, Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao played out a thriller that ended 3-3.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2012.