Mourinho warns of Villarreal’s strength ahead of matchday eight

José Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, warned of Villarreal’s quality ahead of their meeting on Saturday in matchday eight of the Spanish league. He praised their football while saying their position did not reflect their level.

“Villarreal are playing at a high level and playing well. They do not currently have the points they deserve, but they will finish the season in a better position,” Mourinho said. He also noted that his side needed points after losing their previous match. The international break, he explained, had made preparations for this game difficult.

The coach also declined to reveal his attacking choices. Asked whether Diomande would start and could play alongside Mbappé and Vinícius, he replied: “I will not say whether he will play or not. I do not lie, and I will not tell you who will play.” Mourinho added that Real Madrid had several high-quality attacking players, but could not field all of them together.

He said the search for balance did not rule out attacking options: “You can play with 4 forwards. We played with 6 attacking players during the final minutes against Elche, but we cannot play 7 together if we want to maintain balance.”

Mourinho also urged patience over tactical changes and players’ roles. He said the first phase of work had revealed positives as well as areas to improve, but did not warrant a radical overhaul. “That takes work and time,” he stressed. He also described Real Madrid as going through a somewhat complicated period, with situations considered normal at other clubs becoming major issues there. He linked that pressure to the club’s many victories over the past ten years and before then.