Jose Mourinho has made his priority clear ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League opener against Inter Milan: winning matters more than producing another attractive performance.

The Portuguese manager faced the media before Tuesday’s meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real Madrid looking to respond immediately after suffering their first defeat of the season against Real Betis in La Liga.

Mourinho acknowledged that his team performed well in that match but ultimately failed to turn their attacking play into a result. Against Inter, he wants the outcome first.

“I want to win. I could say I want to play well, but I don’t want to play well as we did against Betis and then lose. I want to win.

“We’re in a run of eight matches with the aim of qualifying and I believe we’re going to do it.

“But I want to approach this match as a one-off, in isolation from that context, without thinking about the fact that there will be seven more to go. I want to win.”

Mourinho refuses to reveal midfield solution

The Betis defeat has not changed Mourinho’s belief in his team’s overall level. 

He insisted that the mistakes made that night should be viewed as an isolated problem rather than evidence of a deeper crisis.

“After analysing our performance, we’re increasingly convinced that we played well. That we played against a strong side and that our mistakes were a one-off. That we’re in good shape.

“We’ve got some issues in midfield for tomorrow’s match, but we’re going to play and compete.”

Those issues have left Alexander-Arnold’s possible move into midfield under scrutiny, but Mourinho refused to confirm whether the England international will actually feature there.

“I’m not going to comment on that. I could spend ages here talking about it, but I’d rather be honest with you.

“The three players are out, I know… the fixture list has dictated that we’re playing this match in these circumstances, and although your question is obvious, here we are.

“We’ve got three, four, five options. We could spend ages here discussing them all, but in the end I’m not going to tell you anything.”

Endrick available only for cameo

Mourinho also provided a clear update on Endrick, who has only recently returned to team training and is nowhere near full match fitness.

“He might be ready to play for 5 minutes tomorrow. Or 10′, at most. And that’s it. He trained with the team for the first time yesterday.

“He hasn’t played since… Budapest or Austria, a friendly. He’s not fit for more than 5–10 minutes. But as we’ve got so many spare places on the bench, there he is.”

The manager was equally clear that his history with Real Madrid and Inter will not distract him during the match. 

Mourinho praised Inter coach Chivu and acknowledged their personal connection, but insisted his emotions can wait until the final whistle.

“During the match, I won’t be thinking about things from the past. Chivu will always be one of my own. I’m very happy for him, for what he’s achieving. 

“I’ll say hello to him before and after. During… the match.”

Mourinho demands stability and questions VAR

Mourinho rejected the idea that he owes Real Madrid a Champions League title because of his previous spells at the club, stressing that his current job should be judged independently of his past.

“No. I’ve been at Real Madrid during two different spells. My time there ended in 2013; we won what we won and lost what we lost. 

“We gave it our all. And that was that. But this has nothing to do with the past. 

“They are two different moments in Real Madrid’s history. That’s just how it is.”

He also explained what he wants to build at Madrid this time around: consistency.

“I’ve found a club… which is Real Madrid. And that says it all. Real Madrid is Real Madrid. 

“They had a very difficult season in the past, and when that happens, you have to work to improve.

“We always want to win here. Tomorrow, in every competition. But you have to work on stability and problem-solving. Real Madrid must move towards a stable level.”

Mourinho then returned to the controversial penalty decision against Betis, questioning why VAR did not intervene.

“I’m going to answer it differently. But as this question hasn’t actually been put to me, I’ll say this: we lost to Betis. We lost because we failed to convert our attacking play into goals. Full stop.

“But the penalty… Why wasn’t it reviewed? Well, because the VAR doesn’t know the rules… or because he didn’t want to. This is a question I’d like those in charge to answer. Why?

“If the VAR didn’t order a review because he didn’t know the rules, he should go home and leave it at that. If he didn’t order a review because he didn’t want to, that’s even worse.

“And then there’s an even worse one: if they didn’t know the rules, why didn’t they call the referee over to check it on the monitor? It’s a bit strange,” he concluded.

Source: AS