Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid's coach, praised the spirit and cohesion of his players, stressing that the team is living in a positive atmosphere inside the locker room, following the victory over its host Valencia by three unanswered goals, on Saturday evening, in the Spanish Football League.
Real Madrid's official website quoted Mourinho as saying that his players have shown great progress on both the individual and collective levels, noting that the credit for their defensive cohesion goes primarily to them.
He added: “The players are responding wonderfully, both individually and as a team. There is a great development, and I also believe that our possession of the ball for long periods has reduced our need for defensive work. “When we lost the ball, our reaction was always great.”
He explained: “This team is very solidaristic, very united and has a good spirit.”
The Portuguese coach stressed that he seeks to keep his players calm and not exaggerate in celebrating victories, despite the team achieving eight consecutive victories.
He pointed out: “We should not go crazy with joy just by winning matches with a team like Real Madrid. Winning matches here should be normal. “I see a happy and calm dressing room, despite the loud and chaotic music played by the players.”
Mourinho expressed his concern about the impact of the pressure of matches on his players during the international break, explaining that they suffer great physical stress before joining their country’s national teams.
He said: “The players are in a state of severe fatigue, and they will be with their teams starting Monday, while in the coming days they need to recover from this muscle fatigue. “That is my only concern.”
Mourinho also criticized the match schedule, considering that the pressure of matches and travel during the recent period was very stressful, and called on the League to take into account his team’s circumstances.
He concluded: “I do not want to say that it is beyond human capacity; It is possible to do, but it is very difficult. After this marathon of travel and matches from Sunday to Saturday, it was too much.”
The defending champion New York Knicks continued their awakening, when they defeated their host Cleveland Cavaliers (109-97), while the runner-up San Antonio Spurs continued their consecutive victories, raising them to eight, by defeating their host Portland Trail Blazers (125-103), on Saturday, in the NBA League.
In the first match, and in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference final, the Knicks defeated its host Cavaliers, thanks to its star Jaylen Brunson, who scored 31 points, including 18 in the second quarter, contributing to his team imposing control of the match in Cleveland, where the home team was coming off a remarkable victory over "King" LeBron James and his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, leaders of the Eastern Conference on Friday.
The best player in the league final added six rebounds and nine assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points with 13 rebounds and two steals for the Knicks, who achieved their fifth victory in the last six games, after starting the season with three consecutive defeats.
On the other hand, Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points for Cleveland, but the team was affected by the absence of key player Jarrett Allen, and was unable to keep up with Bronson when the latter imposed his control over the course of the game in the second quarter.
The Knicks' lead reached a maximum of 19 points. Although he succeeded in scoring only 42.7% of his field attempts, he compensated for that by scoring 26 points from second chances after collecting 16 offensive rebounds. Cleveland suffered its fifth defeat this season, while the Knicks achieved its fifth victory.
In the second, the San Antonio Spurs continued their series of victories, achieving their eighth victory in a row, thanks to a new, distinguished display by their French giant, Victor Wimpanyama, who scored 29 points in just 24 minutes, with a high shooting success rate (9 out of 13).
The Trail Blazers were not up to the challenge; He suffered a deserved loss to the organized Spurs, who succeeded in scoring 28 out of 30 free throws.
Wimbanyama, 22 years old, also added seven rebounds and contributed to giving his team a comfortable lead at the end of the first half (64-49), before the difference widened at the end of the third quarter to 109-76.
With the difference exceeding 30 points, the French star spent the entire last 12 minutes on the bench, contenting himself with watching the match. This convincing victory allowed the team from Texas to position itself at the top of the Western Conference with a winning rate of 80%, which is the same record held by the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nigerian Oluobi Omegyaku won the Golden Ball award for best player in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which concluded its competitions in Morocco yesterday (Saturday).
Omegyaku won the award after her brilliance in the final match, during which she led her country to victory over its Japanese counterpart (2/1), by scoring the second goal that sealed the historic title for Nigeria, and she also raised her score to four goals in the tournament.
North Korea's Yoo Jong-hyang won the silver ball for second place in the tournament's best player award, while the bronze ball went to Japanese Fuki Ito for third place.
American Maddie Di Maria won the Golden Shoe for the tournament's top scorer, after scoring 12 goals, despite her country's exit in the quarter-finals, while North Korean Kim Sun Jeong won the Golden Glove Award for best goalkeeper, after her contribution to her country's national team finishing in third place.
North Korea's Yoo Jung-hyang won the silver shoe for second best scorer, while her compatriot Ri Eui-jeong won the bronze shoe. The Japanese team won the Fair Play Award.
