Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho praised his rival AEK Athens after a difficult victory for the Spanish giant in the Greek capital, 3-2, in the fourth round of the Champions League.
Mourinho also confirmed that his team's current goal is to qualify among the first 8 clubs in the league stage, and avoid playing two additional matches in the playoff.
Mourinho said on the Movistar channel after the match, “We fought for this wonderful finish, and we were not satisfied with just a 2-2 draw, even though it seemed like an acceptable result, and would raise our score to 10 points. Rather, we wanted more and took risks in order to obtain the points that would qualify us for the knockout rounds.”
The Portuguese coach added, "It is often said that the stronger team does not start the matches well, nor is it at its best, but frankly, AEK Athens performed above its level. It was their best match. They performed strongly from the first minutes, and they outperformed us in physical confrontations, and posed a great threat."
He continued, "The Greek team did not settle for a 2-2 draw or settle for a point, but rather strived to achieve victory, and gave a wonderful performance."
The Real Madrid coach talked about Federico Valverde, who scored the winning goal with a missile shot in the 92nd minute, saying, “Valverde is distinguished by his powerful shots, but it is difficult when he employs a right-back. I did not ask him to shoot today, but rather I told him that he must play at a fast pace because the match is open.”
He explained, "With both teams suffering from physical exhaustion, I asked him to take advantage of the spaces and move in the dangerous spaces, and to take advantage of his activity and physical vitality."
Regarding Vinicius, Mourinho said, “I think he performed well, but I decided to activate the left front with two substitutions, because Marca Cucurea had received a warning, and to bring in Alvaro Carreras, who is physically refreshed and is distinguished by his ability to run forward on the wing.”
The Real Madrid coach concluded his statements by saying, “As for Ibrahim Diaz, he is good at playing in the attacking depth, so I wanted to activate this front, but Vinicius played a good match.”
Carlos Alcarras needed some time to get into the atmosphere of his first match in the Paris Championship, but the Spanish player regained his rhythm to begin his efforts towards winning the title in this tournament, which falls within the thousand points category of the Association of Tennis Professionals, and which he seeks to win a title for the first time in his career.
Alkaras overcame his faltering start to defeat his American opponent, Alex Michelsen, with a score of 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, and qualified for the third round. After wasting an early lead by breaking his opponent's serve in the first set, Alcarras found himself trailing 1-4 in the tiebreak, but he succeeded in collecting six consecutive points to decide the set in his favor. In the second set, the Spaniard was able to break his opponent's serve in a decisive game at 4-3, ultimately deciding the match after an hour and 41 minutes of play.
In the next round, Alcarras, who won 28 titles in his professional career, will face Italian player Matteo Berrettini.
Berrettini had qualified after his earlier victory over Frenchman Ugo Hombre, whom the local fans had high hopes for, and who had reached the final of the 2024 edition.
