It seems like the ‘Special One’ hasn’t found the keys to lock Barcelona in a cell as Real Madrid race for La Liga title. Los Blancos went 7 points behind Barca last weekend leaving Mourinho angry.
With Barcelona defeating Hercules 3-0 on Saturday, it was imperative for Real Madrid to overcome Osasuna in Pamplona. However, the Spanish giants fell victims to a spirited side which benefited from Camunas’ 62nd minute solitary strike.
This 1-0 defeat did nonetheless not reveal Real Madrid’s dominance in terms of statistics only. Los Blancos enjoyed 66% of possession and had 21 shots on goal compared to Osasuna’s 9. But among their 4 shots which were on target, none deceived goalkeeper Ricardo who saw Casillas tricked by one of Osasuna’s 3 accurate shots at the other end of the field.
To sum up, the night was a bad one for Real Madrid who went home with nothing in their bag as new signing Emmanuel Adebayor also endured a miserable debut. For Jose Mourinho, the result was difficult to take as he explained in a post-match interview:
“We lost 3 points but we didn’t deserve to lose them. However, looking at how our opponents played, I think that they also deserved a positive outcome.
“We had our chances with Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo... but we didn’t take care of business. Let’s give credit to Osasuna because I would rather lose like this.
“Our opponents worked very hard to get this result. As for us, I don’t think that we gave the match away. Osasuna are a tough team and they have a fantastic crowd.
“Not many teams win here, I think. It is a small venue so you really feel the heat. Also, Osasuna are a defensive team and they also play well in attack.
“I’d say that we had chances to score but we couldn’t finish well. It is always more difficult to play on a small pitch like this and when the opponent scores first... well, congratulations to Osasuna!”
So what should Los Blancos fans expect of their team now that a 7-point gap has put El Clasico experts Barcelona well at the top of La Liga standings? Focusing on Copa del Rey glory this season may be a more realistic thing to do. Real Madrid are in the semi-finals of this competition with a 1-0 advantage over Sevilla as they look to host them on Wednesday night.
This 1-0 defeat did nonetheless not reveal Real Madrid’s dominance in terms of statistics only. Los Blancos enjoyed 66% of possession and had 21 shots on goal compared to Osasuna’s 9. But among their 4 shots which were on target, none deceived goalkeeper Ricardo who saw Casillas tricked by one of Osasuna’s 3 accurate shots at the other end of the field.
To sum up, the night was a bad one for Real Madrid who went home with nothing in their bag as new signing Emmanuel Adebayor also endured a miserable debut. For Jose Mourinho, the result was difficult to take as he explained in a post-match interview:
“We lost 3 points but we didn’t deserve to lose them. However, looking at how our opponents played, I think that they also deserved a positive outcome.
“We had our chances with Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo... but we didn’t take care of business. Let’s give credit to Osasuna because I would rather lose like this.
“Our opponents worked very hard to get this result. As for us, I don’t think that we gave the match away. Osasuna are a tough team and they have a fantastic crowd.
“Not many teams win here, I think. It is a small venue so you really feel the heat. Also, Osasuna are a defensive team and they also play well in attack.
“I’d say that we had chances to score but we couldn’t finish well. It is always more difficult to play on a small pitch like this and when the opponent scores first... well, congratulations to Osasuna!”
So what should Los Blancos fans expect of their team now that a 7-point gap has put El Clasico experts Barcelona well at the top of La Liga standings? Focusing on Copa del Rey glory this season may be a more realistic thing to do. Real Madrid are in the semi-finals of this competition with a 1-0 advantage over Sevilla as they look to host them on Wednesday night.
