Jose Mourinho's post-Clasico warning is the exact reality check Real Madrid need
Real Madrid face Racing Santander on Sunday night, and Jose Mourinho wants to focus on how important a win in this match surely is. He was asked about winning the Clásico and how that has changed the mood among the squad, to which he gave a very normal answer. He kept focusing on the need to win in future games so that the win against Barcelona has as much value as it does right now.
He said, "I'm very happy about this maturity. As I said in the press conference in Barcelona, our goal for the season is not just to win a game against Barcelona, but to win the championship, and we are trying to remain on that path. If we win against Barcelona and then lose any other game, the win against Barcelona would not matter as much."
Jose Mourinho needs Real Madrid players to adopt this mentality
Mourinho is spot on with his analysis. Beating Barcelona helped Real Madrid close out the gap to just three points, which was huge. But now, if they lose or draw this game, they will once again be in the same situation they were in before the Clásico, and nobody wants that to happen, certainly not anyone at Real Madrid.
Even last season, when Real Madrid beat Barcelona in the Clásico, they were eight points ahead of their biggest rivals in the league. However, in just a few weeks' time, that lead had vanished because of inconsistent results from the team. Real Madrid cannot allow the same thing to happen this time around.
A win against Barcelona is crucial, and that is what has halved the gap between the two sides right now. The biggest difference between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the moment is the Catalans' ability to just beat smaller teams in a convincing manner. They rarely have the blips that we see from Real Madrid, and that is exactly why they have one more league title in this century than Los Blancos.
If Real Madrid want to change that and want to get back into contention to win titles again, they will need to be consistent in the smaller games. If beating Barcelona was going to give them a trophy, they would have had one by now. The league is not a knockout competition, though. It is a gradual, gruelling process of being the most consistent team over a year's time.
If Real Madrid want to be that, they would need to win games like this and try to be as consistent as possible, so that whatever Barcelona do or don't do stops mattering. Real Madrid need to have that: be in that situation where a win or loss to Barcelona doesn't change their thinking too much. The only way that happens is if Real Madrid are in a much better position than they are right now and are at the top of the table, playing well in every single match. It is a lot easier said than done, but if Real Madrid want to have trophies in their hands once again, this is the mentality they will have to adopt.
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