Murcia hold off Real Madrid in Spanish cup
Jose Mourinho remains undefeated after 12 matches in all competitions, and although he'll claim to be satisfied with the 0-0 result his team achieved on Tuesday in the Copa del Rey, he now has to lead
his team back home and fetch a result after being held to a stalemate by Murcia who play two divisions lower down.
Mourinho didn't pull any punches, fielding a side replete with his regulars including, Iker Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Pepe.
''I'm happy with the team. We played a serious game and wanted to win," Mourinho said. "My criticisms are for those who don't work as hard as they can, and this wasn't the case.''
''There are no criticisms of my team, I'm happy with them despite the result, which we don't like because we always want to win. We worked hard and had chances to score. We had some limitations due to
the absence of more creative players like (Xabi) Alonso and (Mesut) Ozil."
Madrid did control most of the match and created far more chances to score than their opponent. But Murcia goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez Santos had a tremendous performance.
''Murcia worked well. We didn't win because their goalkeeper had a fantastic night,'' added Mourinho.
''I'm going away from here satisfied with the people who have played. They've all tried and that's important.''
Mourinho's team has scored 22 goals in La Liga this season – more than any other team – including a 6-1 thrashing of Racing Santander last Saturday. Despite being held without a goal in their first leg,
Mourinho is confident his team can return to the Santiago Bernabeu and progress to the next round.
''We are going to win the match at home and we are going to get through," Mourinho added. "I'm convinced we will get through.'
"The result is not what we wanted, but it leaves us with a 0-0 to take back to the Bernabeu and with the attitude the players showed, it should not be a problem. We will win the home game and we will go
through."
The players are not panicking either as Madrid winger Pedro Leon reiterated his coach's sentiments and expressed the same sort of confidence.
"He (Mourinho) said that we did a great job," Leon said. "We have worked well, but we have not taken advantage of the many opportunities presented to us.
“When the team are defending deep, as Murcia did, it is hard, but I am convinced that if we play well at the Santiago Bernabeu, we will score. You cannot blame a team that has had many chances.”
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