José . Our coach began the press conference by analyzing the schedule: "My message to Tebas’ La Liga… I have to be humble because they have the power and ask them not to do the same to us. I don't want to say it's superhuman; it's possible to do, but it's very difficult. If they want to play that joke, let them play it on others and leave us alone after this marathon of travel and matches from Sunday to Saturday, which has been too much."

"I’m telling you now that I’m concerned about the international break because if the players stayed with me and my staff, we would give them very special attention to help them recover, but they will be with their national teams. I’ve never coached a national team, but I can imagine their coaches want to work, and these players now can’t train; they need to rest to be able to play for their country. These players need a lot of attention in their recovery process.”

Mourinho's 77% win rate in La Liga
"It tells me that we have to win the next one because, in this life, people forget the nice numbers that might have some significance. We don’t live off past numbers. We live in the present, and we have to win the next one. I had no idea, but obviously, it’s a source of pride because Spanish football has had so many top coaches throughout history. To be there with those numbers is a pride, but the next game is the most important.”

How does the team manage to be so solid defensively?
“It’s them. The credit goes to them, the players. I can’t pinpoint anything in my work that’s the key to making them do it. I do my normal work, and they’re responding individually, and as a team, they’re responding spectacularly. There’s great progress, but I think the fact that today we had so much possession and little defensive work helps. Also, it must be said that, at the moment of losing the ball, we’ve always had a great reaction. Regarding what you mentioned, there’s an image in front of my bench, in the second half, where we lost the ball, Arda is out of position, and Kylian sprints to get back and close the block on the right wing. This is a good example, but it’s just one. They are very united, very solid, and, as I told Realmadrid TV, from my experience, this team feels right.”

Atmosphere at Mestalla
"Mestalla is passion. Valencia, throughout history, has always been a tough stadium; a demanding stadium for its teams and players. Playing against a Real Madrid that is far superior individually and collectively increases the frustration and pushes the players towards a style of play that allows them to challenge the result. The good thing for us is that we have been very calm in not responding. The situation with the red card, from a distance, seems very clear to me. Later, the yellow card for Kylian I don’t know. I know it’s potentially a goal, a goal-scoring action; I don’t know if the play could have continued. I might be wrong, I don’t know, but it seemed to me from the bench that the referee did an excellent job in a stadium where people protest. One thing is the Bernabéu, where people calmly attend the game; another is Santander or Valencia. These are stadiums where people want to play the match, and from the frustration of the result, people protest a bit more and add intensity, but all within normality.”

Talking to national team coaches
"I won’t talk because I don’t know if one day I’ll be a national team coach, but I have the feeling that if I ever do it, I’ll be very demanding with the clubs; I’ll think about myself and my team. That’s the feeling. That’s why I don’t feel like calling anyone, even my friend Carlo (Ancelotti). But, in Carlo’s case, just look at who’s going with Carlo: Vinícius, who must play; Endrick, and if Carlo plays him, I’ll be grateful. It’s not Carlo's side that worries me, but I don’t think they enjoy it either if a player gets injured from overexertion. They owe it to the players to be professional when it comes to helping them recover. Let’s hope we’re lucky.”

How much does the international break worry you?
"It’s, as I said, my only concern. They are in extreme fatigue and must be with their national teams on Monday, and they’ll spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday still recovering from this muscle fatigue. I’m not saying mental fatigue because winning doesn’t bring mental fatigue, but physical fatigue, yes. I respect the national team coaches.”

Feelings after eight consecutive victories
"What makes me happy is that we haven’t had chaos; we’ve always been calm. We understand the reasons why we lost that match (against Atlético) and where we could improve. We’ve always been very calm. I will always fight to ensure that in good times, people stay balanced. I always tell them that winning matches in a team like Real Madrid shouldn’t lead to crazy joy. Winning matches at Real Madrid has to be normal. I see a happy dressing room, with horrible, loud music (laughs), but people are calm because the message is that winning matches should be normal. When we lose, we enter your chaos, which can then spread to the madridista environment, to the fans. Inside here, we’re calm.”

Will you go to the NFL tomorrow?
"I’ll go to the NFL tomorrow if from 40 degrees, I go down to 39 because I’m dead. I’m tired, I have a fever, but if I recover, I’ll go.”

Was there tension at halftime?
"I left immediately. My friend Aguirre, with me. I’ll gladly tell you what I told Aguirre after the match: ‘Don’t be sad because my players are much better than yours.’ It’s the truth. The problem isn’t Aguirre, who is a great coach with great experience, but that the Real Madrid players are very good, and coaches with players like mine are more likely to win.”