Real Madrid manager not worried by red cards in Champions League win
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho claims that he is not worried by the two red cards his side picked up in their 4-0 win over Ajax in a UEFA Champions League group stage game on Tuesday 23 November.
Defender Sergio Ramos and midfielder Xabi Alonso both picked up their second bookings of the game in the dying minutes of the match, and while the 2010 FIFA World Cup-winning pair will both miss the last
group stage game against Auxerre on 8 December, Mourinho was not too disheartened by the decision of Scottish referee Craig Thomson to send the players off.
The former Inter Milan boss told Spanish publication
Marca: “I liked the cards that were shown. The last two were awarded because we wanted to save time. The British referee showed (yellow cards) one here and one there. Now, we are top of our group, and have a match against Auxerre, and it does not faze
me."
Real is currently under some investigation because it was thought the second bookings were deliberate in order to get rid of previous bookings. A second yellow card in the tournament means a one-match
suspension, and fans are suspicious the bookings may have been deliberate in order to get the potential suspensions out of the way sooner rather than in the knockout stages.
Madrid emerged from the game with a comprehensive victory courtesy of goals by Karim Benzema, Alvaro Arbeloa and a double strike by Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho, however, opted to praise the fringe players
who had featured in the match and helped Los Blancos maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
He added: “It has made me very happy, the response of players like Arbeloa, Lassana (Diarra), (Raul) Albiol or Benzema, who are not regular. I am very happy to make these changes and their performance
was very good. We changed two or three players, but the team does not really change. Everyone has the confidence to do well, and I think this is fundamental.”
Madrid had already booked their place in the last 16 of the competition after their last-gasp equaliser in the 2-2 draw with AC Milan on 3 November. They have also been confirmed as winners of the group,
meaning that they will avoid playing another group winner in the first knockout stage.
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