Mourinho admits Courtois was crucial as Demichelis sees improvement in his team's performance
| Martin Demichelis. | Photo: Sona Maleterova / Getty Images. |
José Mourinho was pleased with Real Madrid’s performance against RB Leipzig but was quick to credit goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for playing a crucial role in the 4-1 Champions League victory.
Leipzig created several dangerous opportunities in an entertaining first half, forcing Courtois into important saves. Madrid eventually took the lead through Bernardo Silva shortly before the break before Arda Güler, Kylian Mbappé and Yan Diomande secured the result after half-time.
“To be honest, our keeper Courtois was crucial tonight,” Mourinho said. He also praised Leipzig and their goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt for their energetic performance, while noting that maintaining such intensity throughout a match of this level is difficult.
Madrid took advantage as the game progressed, with Mourinho explaining that his team began to find their rhythm and make their chances count. The victory continued a promising start to the Champions League campaign for the Spanish giants.
“I think the way we are playing is positive, and you start getting a positive feeling in this competition as a Real Madrid player and fan. We’ve had a good start to this campaign,” Mourinho added.
For Leipzig, the defeat brought further frustration, but headcoach Demichelis insisted that his team had shown considerable improvement following their heavy loss against Bayern Munich.
“I have a bad feeling because it was another defeat. But there is also something positive in it because we were significantly better than against Bayern,” the Leipzig coach said.
Demichelis felt his side had created enough chances to deserve more from the contest, arguing that going into half-time trailing 1-0 did not reflect the balance of play.
He also drew a clear distinction between the two recent defeats.
“Against Bayern, we did nothing. A defeat like today’s is something you can accept because you know you gave everything. Against Bayern, we were simply passive. Today, we were active,” he explained.
Leipzig will have little time to dwell on the result, with Demichelis already looking ahead to the next fixture and the opportunity to give the club’s supporters something to celebrate.
The coach was also delighted to see Christoph Baumgartner return from injury, describing the midfielder as a leader and an important attacking presence.
“He deserved to play today against Madrid. We need him, and he is very important for us going forward. We know how good he is and how important he is for us,” Demichelis said.
Nevertheless, the Leipzig coach acknowledged that one problem remains unresolved: his team are conceding too many goals.
“We have conceded too many goals recently. Naturally, I am not happy with that,” he admitted.
