Mourinho: Espanyol win was perfect

Posted Monday, October 03, 2011 by ESPN

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho was pleased with his side after they crushed Espanyol 4-0 to regain their La Liga momentum.

The manager, speaking to his club's official website, lauded the efforts of his men after stumbling in recent weeks.

The Portuguese said: "We came out of a negative week with a perfect one. It's important because we're aware of our quality, but this is even more important on a psychological level. We managed to leave a bad situation behind, in which we played badly in three games, by earning three victories and scoring 13 goals.

He took time to praise the efforts of Lassana Diarra, Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa.

"We're confident again and I'm happy for the team and for those of my men who have hardly played this season. The response of players like Lassana, Albiol and Arbeloa was fantastic."

"This is an important victory against a difficult adversary. They made things difficult for us until we scored our second strike. They had many chances to score in the first half.

Gonzalo Higuain gave Mourinho a firm reminder of his goalscoring prowess, scoring a hat-trick against Espanyol, and the manager acknowledged the Argentinian's efforts.

Higuain himself said: "I recovered from my surgery as soon as I could in order to play as soon as possible. I was looking forward to playing this well and scoring again. I also played the entire game, which will help me reach optimum form."

"This victory allows us to catch up with those in the lead. It was a difficult game that served me to grow more confident and to have more playing time. We have to continue playing as a team because it will lead us to win titles."

"Mourinho congratulated me. Everybody knew I needed this after my injury. I only think about enjoying the ride and focusing on one game at a time."

"Alvaro gave me a perfect pass for my second strike and I did not hesitate to cross it into the goal."

"Higuain is as important as it is to work for the team, and they all did that tonight", Mourinho lauded, adding: "Cristiano served two marvelous assists. Everyone worked hard for a very important result."

The savvy tactician also gave an insight towards his thoughts on the game.

"Our second goal finished the game and allowed us to net two more", Mourinho explained.

"It's no different to lose by one goal than it is to lose by a thousand. Espanyol took risks and left open spaces that made it easier for us to earn this result. I'm happy about taking all points and with the team's performace.

"I liked individual and collective efforts alike. I'd like to highlight how hard Espanyol made it for us. It's always better to win against good opponents."

"A point is worht one point, not ten. It doesn't matter to me to be behind as long as the cushion is small. I'd obviously like to be ahead, but one point is an insignificant lead. I believe Levante deserve all the attention and all the praise for achieving the unexpected. They are having a fantastic season."

"Losing happens in football. What's important is that we managed to move on after drawing our match in Santander. We played two consecutive home games and the support of the Bernabeu was very important to us."

The three points take Real Madrid to third in La Liga with their fourth win of the campaign.