Mental edge the key for tired Real Madrid

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said mental power was the key to his side’s narrow 1-0 away win against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Gonzalo Higuain grabbed the only goal of the game in the first half as the Spanish giants successfully carved out a victory to provisionally go top of the La Liga table.

After scoring 21 times in their previous five domestic fixtures before their visit to the Basque region, Mourinho admitted that the win by a single goal was a tough one.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy in the last minutes. We managed to play united despite our exhaustion,” Mourinho said.

“This is nearly the fifth game we play every three days or so, which has deprived some of my men of their physical and mental freshness. My men lost some quality and danger after half-time, but we gained in collective efforts and psychological strength.”

Mourinho made four changes to his team following their 3-0 home victory against Villarreal on Wednesday, and the former Chelsea manager defended his decision to rotate his squad.

“The four of them deserved to play today, but I’m happy because the others brought things to the team,” he said.

“My men are having a good response and the squad is strong. We’ve just finished a difficult month and we have yet to play two more games before my men go around the world to play friendlies with their national teams.”

Real Madrid return to Champions League action on Wednesday where an away win against Lyon would confirm their qualification to the round of 16 with two games to spare.