A new weapon for Real Madrid: Mourinho trains Real Madrid on luck
José Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager, insists Inter's mistakes against Los Blancos flowed directly from the pressure his own players applied. Luck, he argues, is no random stroke. It shows up when you are ready to pounce at the right moment.
Football does not bend to mathematical calculation, according to Spanish newspaper "AS". Nothing guarantees that combining the same factors will always produce the same result.
Sometimes it comes down to luck. Some see it as nothing more than an event or a string of random occurrences beyond human control, favourable or otherwise.
That is not always how this sport works, though. Luck is not simply a fortunate break but a moment where preparation meets opportunity at the right time, exactly what surfaced when Real Madrid faced Inter last Tuesday.
Come the 23rd minute, with Real Madrid in front despite Inter dominating possession, Josep Martínez made the kind of error that has become almost customary for Real Madrid in the Champions League: an opposition goalkeeper's mistake ending in a goal.
Trying to dribble past Valverde, the Inter goalkeeper got in a muddle with the ball. The Uruguayan midfielder poked it into the net with the tip of his boot for Real Madrid's second.
The first had come moments earlier. Sharp pressing from Mbappé forced an error from Bisseck, and the French forward pounced to open the scoring.
Mourinho prefers to credit his own players for opponents' mistakes. "The players did a great job and won in difficult circumstances," he said. "I want to give credit to my team's players, because pressing is trained, and likewise the triggers that must be pressed while applying pressure are trained. We don't just want the criticism, because we did some things well."
The effect of pressure
None of this was new for Mourinho. During his first spell on the Real Madrid bench, the Portuguese coach had already tasted what it means to have luck on your side in Europe's biggest club competition.
Take the second leg of the 2010-2011 Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham. Cristiano Ronaldo let fly from long range, almost from the halfway line, and Heurelho Gomes misjudged the flight completely, letting the ball slip through his hands and into his own net.
A season later, in the group stage, Mesut Özil tried to clear or cut out a low pass across the pitch, only for Hugo Lloris, the Olympique Lyonnais goalkeeper, to turn it into his own goal.
Since the 2007-2008 season, Real Madrid have profited in the Champions League from 30 goalkeeping mistakes that ended in goals.
Pressure did not cause all of them. But they include some of the most memorable, like Karim Benzema's goal in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool and their goalkeeper Karius.
Mourinho knows this side of the game is essential, so he drills it relentlessly. His players learned against Inter that luck, too, can be trained.
