José Mourinho Reflects on Real Madrid's 4–1 Win Against Rayo Vallecano
José Mourinho walked away from a 4–1 win over Rayo Vallecano satisfied with the scoreline, but under no illusions about what he had just seen from his Real Madrid side.
For him, this was a game decided long before the final whistle.
A 45-minute affair
“I'd describe the match as a 45-minute affair. In 45 minutes, it was over,” Mourinho said, cutting straight to the point after Madrid’s convincing victory.
He admitted he had anticipated the drop-off after the break.
“I knew the team didn't have the physical and mental strength to play the second half the way they did,” he explained. “The image that sums it all up is how Bellingham played in the last 10 minutes. Practically everyone made mistakes in build-up play, struggled to press, and with shots on goal… I already knew that. I expected it to be like that.”
Madrid had already done the damage. The rest, in Mourinho’s eyes, was survival mode.
Arda Güler changes the rhythm
If the first half belonged to Madrid collectively, the second half had a different kind of spark: Arda Güler.
Brought on from the bench, the young playmaker drew special praise from his coach.
“Arda makes a big impact when he's on the pitch,” Mourinho said. “Arda has a very positive influence on the team's play. When he came on, he made all the difference in terms of the stability of our play.”
Mourinho then widened the lens, pointing to the depth that allowed him to change games from the touchline.
“I'm 100% certain that if Diomande hadn't started today, the first question would have been, ‘Why isn't Diomande playing?’ There's nothing but quality on the bench. The line-up changes will be made on a match-by-match basis.”
Rotation, he made clear, is not a luxury. It is the plan.
Diomande, potential and patience
Yan Diomande’s presence in the starting XI has already stirred debate outside the club. Inside, Mourinho is unmoved.
“I'm a bit too old to feel the pressure,” he said with a smile behind the words. “In football you can have different squads; sometimes you have to pray that nobody gets injured, other times you've got plenty of options.”
Diomande, in his view, belongs to the second category: a player packed with talent, still learning the demands of elite football.
“He'll keep improving bit by bit. He hasn't been at the top level for long and has a lot to learn tactically. But he's got incredible potential. In one-on-one situations, with his passing, shooting… He gives us loads of options. He can play where Vini does, on the right; Arda can play there too, or where Bellingham plays. Right now, I want to help him develop.”
The message was clear: this is a long-term investment, not a short-term experiment.
Vinícius close to top gear
If Diomande and Arda represent the future, Vinícius remains one of the pillars of the present.
Mourinho sounded quietly excited about where the Brazilian is physically.
“Physically, he's in better shape than ever. He's just a millimetre away from reaching his top speed. His ability to sustain effort is immense. It's a process he's getting to grips with.”
The mental side, too, earned a nod.
“Mentally, he's very strong; he knows Madrid better than anyone. He plays with a great sense of responsibility, that of representing Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. He's calm. The goals will come.”
No panic, no alarm. Just the conviction that once Vinícius fully clicks, the numbers will follow.
Step by step
Despite the clear fatigue and the uneven second half, Mourinho’s overall assessment of the project so far was upbeat.
“I'm happy because we've been together for three months, although we can only really count from when we were all here,” he said. “What we're doing has a lot of positives. We're taking it step by step, always trying to improve.”
The sense is of a team still under construction, but already capable of killing games early and riding out the rough patches.
Closing the door, then finding a fourth
Even at 3–1 up late on, Mourinho’s instinct was not to entertain but to secure.
His final substitution underlined that.
“Simple. I want to win, and I want to win by as many goals as possible,” he said. “When you're 3–1 up with five minutes to go, and Rayo have a very powerful full-back capable of creating danger… At that point, I felt it was best to shut the door. For me, the time for fancy footwork and scoring goals was over. Then we scored the fourth, even better.”
Pragmatism first, spectacle if it comes.
Madrid walked off with four goals, three points, and a coach who believes his team is still far from its ceiling. If this is what they look like after “only” 45 convincing minutes, what happens when they find the legs and the mind to play the full 90 at that level?
