"Obviously Barcelona had a strong reaction in the second half, but we, with great calm and organisation, with it 1-1 never lost our heads," José Mourinho told A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese. The Real Madrid coach used the aftermath of the 2-1 win in Barcelona vs Real Madrid to push two points at once: his side were composed in a huge game, and the officials missed what he believed was a red-card incident involving João Cancelo.

Mourinho's version of the night is not hard to understand. Madrid won at Barcelona, have five wins in a row across all competitions and sit third in La Liga, three points off the lead. On the other side, Pedri admitted Barcelona were too slow and too careless, especially before the break.

Mourinho's reading of the game

Speaking to A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese, Mourinho said: "First of all, it was a great game, at a high level, a game that surely everyone who loves football stopped to watch, with two teams that played to win. In our case, and it is more for me to speak about mine, the boys played an extraordinary game, very organised, focused, with the courage to play out from the back against an opponent that presses a lot. We had chances to make it 2-0, we had a Bellingham and Mbappé situation two against one..."

That emphasis on order and control ran through all of his post-match comments. Mourinho argued that even when Barcelona improved after half-time, Madrid did not lose structure or drift into panic at 1-1.

He also linked the result directly to the table. "If you go out nine points behind, from a psychological point of view it is heavy. If you go out six it is balanced... and going out three is different," he said. Madrid are now third with 21 points after nine matches, and Mourinho said his team are three points off the lead.

There was also a pointed complaint about the key officiating call. Mourinho said: "I repeat, against a great opponent and with a referee who I think had a great game and a VAR who I think was asleep in the 60th minute, it is a clear red card for João Cancelo in a move with Yan Diomande, but great game, great victory."

That remains Mourinho's view, not an established fact, but it was clearly central to how he framed the match afterwards.

Barcelona's own admission

Pedri's account, reported by Estadio Deportivo in comments translated from Spanish, gave Barcelona little cover. "In general we haven't played a great game, in the first half we weren't ourselves, there were many things we could have done better," he said.

That lines up with Mourinho's claim that Madrid were the calmer side. It also pushes back against the idea, raised elsewhere after the match, that Barcelona were plainly superior. They had attacking threat through players such as Raphinha, who has 13 La Liga goals this season, but Pedri's own verdict was that the performance level was not there for long enough.

He was even more specific about the decisive second goal. "In the second we equalized and in that transition that we knew they could do, but that we did not defend well, they score the second," Pedri said.

That is a bad look for Barcelona because it was not an unexpected pattern. Mourinho's explanation of his selection pointed the same way. He said he wanted runners and energy, and even referenced a moment where Kylian Mbappé had been involved in a dangerous two-against-one situation. Mbappé now has 11 league goals, which helps explain why Madrid are content to stay compact and wait for space in games like this.

Squad depth and the title race

Mourinho also used the win to defend his squad management. Speaking to A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese, he said: "I will never say that this is my base team, that this is my starting eleven. The squad is very good, very complete, the people work a lot, they are ready to play and life is like that."

He expanded on that by explaining he needed players with legs to track runners and attack space, rather than treating his team selection as fixed. It was a familiar Mourinho message, but in this case it matched the game Barcelona said they struggled to control.

Pedri tried to cool any instant title-race drama. "It is three points, a league is not won here," he said. He is right on that part. But the result still leaves Madrid on a five-match winning run and only three points off the lead after beating Barcelona 2-1 on 25 October.

FAQ

Why did Mourinho complain about VAR after Real Madrid beat Barcelona?

Mourinho said VAR "was asleep in the 60th minute" because he believed João Cancelo should have been sent off for a challenge involving Yan Diomande. He still praised the referee's overall performance, but presented the missed red card as a major moment in Real Madrid's 2-1 win.

What did Pedri say after Barcelona lost the Clásico to Real Madrid?

Pedri admitted Barcelona were below their usual level, especially in the first half. He said the team were not themselves, could have done many things better and failed to defend a transition they already knew Real Madrid could produce. He also insisted the title race was not decided by this result.

How important was the Clásico win for Real Madrid in the title race?

Mourinho made the league context clear after the game. He said Real Madrid have won five in a row and are now three points off the lead. The win at Barcelona mattered because falling further back would have increased the pressure, while this result keeps Madrid close.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 6 outlets. How we work →