Mourinho: “With Vinicius I use 80% soft hand and 20% hard hand”

The AEK coach, Marko Nikolic, asked in the preview to “put fire in the stands” before the visit of Madrid. More than an hour and a half before the game, the Serb appeared on the grass and began to pray with his hands on his face while a deep, cavernous sound with his name came out of the amphitheater. The choir and dance competition then began at the Santa Sofía in Athens, which was not even extinguished by Fede Valverde's blow in '92. "Sometimes, I think about it a lot and my teammates give me the confidence to take that impulse," the Uruguayan confessed in Movistar, who started the night on the bench and finished it in the center of the field, far from his new position, that of the right back. “If we win [again in injury time] it is because we feel we can do it,” emphasized José Mourinho, who added his fifth victory in the last minutes (Espanyol, Elche, Roma, classic and AEK).

Despite the final blow, the one who could not escape the flames that were eating his feet was Vinicius, once again a starter in Europe (he has one suspension date left in the League) and once again inconsequential. His match had all the appearance of a therapeutic session for Mou, who kept him on the field until the 82nd minute and first relieved Yan Diomande (in the 67th minute), who returned to the right bank. The match of seven, however, did not alter the script of their laziness.

The Portuguese, yes, tried to dedicate kind words to him. "His game was acceptable. Not extraordinary, but the team was not extraordinary either. He has fulfilled that line," analyzed Mourinho, who clarified that his inclusion did not cause the Ivorian to move to the other coast. "Diomande came to play on both wings, not just one. He doesn't care whether he's left or right, it doesn't change anything," he stressed.

Vini's performance ended with three shots, none of them on goal, and only one dribble attempt, which he failed to achieve. He came from two games in a row in the Champions League without even trying (Rome and Leipzig). His card left the Brazilian on the same couch. “With him, until now, I use 80% soft hand and 20% hard hand,” the white coach said with a smile when asked about it.

"AEK was responsible for not playing a perfect match. Of all the matches we analyzed of them, they did not come close to today's level. But we knew how to react and have personality with 1-0 and 2-1," said Mourinho, who took the playoff for granted and scored six or seven more points to be among the top eight.

The coach once again brought together the four attackers (Bellingham, Diomande, Vinicius and Mbappé), as in Rome, but this Wednesday with one caveat: he resorted to a hybrid midfield (Camavinga and Bernardo Silva), as in the last appointments, and not to the concrete (Tchouameni and Valverde) of Italy. Güler and the French pivot were not in the call. However, the clash ended with Valverde and Camavinga in the middle. Greece's commitment, in the middle of Santander and Mestalla, pushed him to make decisions also thinking about Valencia on Saturday. Because of the starting rotations (Dumfries, Camavinga and Rüdiger, plus Vini's return), and some subsequent movements. In Mestalla, he announced, Huijsen, Konaté, Tchouameni and Güler will start.