Jose Mourinho Explains How Real Madrid Beat Barcelona in El Clasico

Table of Contents

Jose Mourinho said Real Madrid won at Barcelona by using midfielders such as Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham to break the home side’s high defensive line.
Kylian Mbappe scored both goals in a 2-1 win that ended Barcelona’s nine-game unbeaten league run and left Real three points behind the leaders.
Hansi Flick said his players lacked freshness, while Mourinho used his press conference to say coaches take the blame when a team loses.

Midfielders Broke the Line, and Mourinho Says the Credit Belongs to the Players

Jose Mourinho did not take the credit for beating Barcelona. “The credit goes to the players,” the Real Madrid manager said after his side won 2-1 at the Camp Nou. Then he turned to the other half of the sentence. “When you win, the credit goes to the players. But when you lose, the blame falls on you. And that’s why we see coaches being sacked from their positions every week.”

How Real Madrid Got Through the High Line

Mourinho outlined the plan himself. Barcelona’s high line caught Mbappe offside seven times, the most by any player in a major European league in six years, and Mourinho said forwards struggle against it. “It is difficult for any attackers to attack space against Barcelona, the only solution is to do it with your midfielders,” he said. Camavinga and Bellingham were the men he picked to break that line, and he said “it worked”.

The winner showed the plan in action. Camavinga burst from deep beyond Mbappe, who was there to finish after being flagged offside so often earlier in the game. Mbappe’s double ended a run of nine straight league wins for Barcelona to start the season, and it cut their lead at the top of La Liga to three points. A defeat would have given them a nine-point advantage.

Mourinho described how he sees the group. “I’ve learned that I have an extraordinary group, with the quality and mindset to play,” he said. He also rated the blend in midfield: “This mix of talents gives us balance when defending and quality when we go on the attack.”

A Clasico Record and a Warning Against Celebrating

The result gave Mourinho a place in Real Madrid history. He is the third Real manager to go six El Clasicos in a row without defeat, with four wins and two draws, joining Miguel Munoz, who managed the feat between 1962 and 1965, and Vicente del Bosque, between 2001 and 2003. It comes 13 years after Mourinho last led Real in the fixture. Across his two spells he has now won six and lost six Clasicos. For Real it was only a second win in eight games against Barcelona.

He celebrated the winner with his trademark knee slide, but he kept his message on the league. “In my view, Real Madrid do not play to win at the Camp Nou, Real Madrid play to win La Liga,” he said. “We could win with luck, but we won with calmness and with all merit,” he said. He ended with a warning to his own group. “We need to continue like this and don’t go over the moon after this win.”

Flick Admits His Team Ran Out of Energy

Barcelona’s manager did not look for excuses. Hansi Flick said “we missed the freshness” and pointed to a demanding few weeks. “It’s not easy for our players,” he said. “We have to recover well, train well and we have to respond from this defeat.” He added that “in big games, small things are important and they decide the games and today, it wasn’t on our side.” His closing assessment was direct: “I can see that today we were not fresh and this is what we have to change.”

The loss follows a 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and Sky Sports columnist Adam Bate asked whether Barcelona have a problem against the strongest opposition. Inter and Atletico Madrid knocked them out of Europe in each of the past two seasons, and Bate wrote that this week was a big warning. Barcelona still lead La Liga, and Real have now won five games in a row in all competitions.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.