Jose Mourinho said Real Madrid showed three different sides during their 2-2 friendly draw with Fiorentina, while also praising the efforts of Carlos Espi after the young player had trained with the squad for only an hour.
Speaking to Real Madrid’s television channel in comments reported by AS, Mourinho said the team began the match with energy and quality before fatigue and the physical demands of the contest changed the way they played.
“I saw three faces of the team: a fresh team, a tired one and a very tired one,” said the Real Madrid manager.
Mourinho felt the side’s performance in the opening 45 minutes deserved more than the 2-1 half-time lead they held.
“The fresh team played brilliantly, and 2-1 at the end of the first half was far less than the performance deserved,” he said. “We produced a high-quality first half and could easily have been three or four goals ahead.”
The game became more physical after the interval, with Fiorentina applying sustained pressure and forcing Real Madrid to defend closer to their own penalty area.
“After that, the match became more physical and the opponents put us under a lot of pressure. That was when the second face appeared,” Mourinho added.
He highlighted the challenge faced by Joan and Mario, saying the two young players had performed well but were not yet physically prepared to deal with a powerful striker such as Moise Kean.
“When you have to defend inside the penalty area with two young players like Joan and Mario, they played a great match, but physically they are not yet at the level required to face a strong striker like Moise Kean,” he said.
Mourinho was particularly pleased with the way his players responded late in the game, when fatigue had become a major factor.
“The third face is the one I liked very much,” he said. “It was a very tired team, but it knew how to remain organised and regained control of the game.”
Denzel Dumfries and Endrick had completed only three training sessions before the match, yet both played for more than 70 minutes.
“Dumfries and Endrick had only three training sessions, but each of them played more than 70 minutes,” Mourinho said. “It is a wonderful effort and has great value for me. I thanked them for what they gave us. Honestly, I liked everything.”
The Portuguese manager said the result reflected the players currently available to him and insisted the status of Real Madrid remained significant even in pre-season.
“This is Real Madrid with the ability and players we currently have available,” he said. “I told the players before the match that Real Madrid remains Real Madrid, even in friendly matches.”
Mourinho also explained that the squad had trained together only once before facing Fiorentina, with that session focused on organisation.
“Today I had to use the men, so to speak, who were available to me,” he said. “We only trained yesterday, and we used that session for some organisational aspects.”
That led to an opportunity for Carlos Espi, who Mourinho described affectionately as still appearing to be “waking up from a dream” after joining the squad.
“We used poor Carlos Espi, who still looks as if he is waking up from a dream,” Mourinho said. “He trained with us for only one hour yesterday and helped us today to understand what it means to play for Real Madrid.”
Mourinho said he was pleased with the players’ work since the first day, although he remains concerned by the absence of those yet to join the group.
“I am very happy with the work the players have done since the first day,” he said. “What worries me is the absence of the other players. I would have liked to have had three weeks of work with them too, but that is not possible.”
Vinicius, Brahim Diaz and Bernardo Silva are due to arrive on Monday. Dumfries, Carlos Espi and Endrick will also have more training sessions behind them as the remainder of the squad gradually reports for duty.
“We will continue working until the rest of the players arrive,” Mourinho said.
He added that he was not yet drawing major conclusions from the friendly fixture.
“So far I have not felt anything special, because the real matches have not started yet,” he said.
