Madrid - Arabstoday
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has said that he was happy with his side\'s second-half display despite surrendering a lead to lose 3-2 against Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Supercopa.
Mourinho went ahead through Cristiano Ronaldo\'s powerful 55th-minute header, but then looked almost out of the tie when three goals in 21 minutes from Pedro, Lionel Messi and Xavi put the hosts 3-1 in front. However, a late error by Barça goalkeeper Victor Valdes allowed Angel Di Maria to reduce the arrears with five minutes remaining and give Madrid hope of overcoming the deficit in the return leg next Wednesday.
Mourinho said: \"I didn\'t like the first half. Sometimes we made a play that we didn\'t want to make. The opponent has the credit of making you change your game plan but in the second half we pressed a lot and played well.
\"In the first half we were limited to playing well defensively, but without attacking. Barcelona were better but in the second we played a completely different game.\"
Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova, meanwhile, disappointed not to take a more commanding lead to Madrid next week, but insisted that Valdes\' error was simply caused by taking a risk that Barca\'s philosophy is built around.
\"We had a good physical level and we had possession in almost every moment,\" he said. \"We have dominated the play and had more chances. There was an opportunity to make it 4-1 and in the next act they made it 3-2, but we are happy with the victory.
\"Many times Valdes has helped us. If he punted the ball forward every time then we would not have the combination play we have. We will encourage him to continue playing as he has done.\"
FIFA