Mourinho stands up for Vinícius and Mbappé after Bernabéu whistles: "Whoever gives everything isn't obligated to give more"

Some wins get celebrated. Others barely get tolerated. Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League fell into the second category: three points banked, but an atmosphere at the Bernabéu that filled with whistles aimed at two of the biggest names in the attack, Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé. And the man who stepped up to face the music, as he usually does, was José Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach didn't dodge the subject in his post-match press conference. He knew the question was coming and chose to meet it head on, defending his Brazilian forward without hiding that he's going through a rough patch. "I don't criticize the fans, I don't talk about that. I speak as a coach and about my relationship with him. He deserves all my respect. He's not at his best, that's something we all see," he explained, making clear that his assessment comes from inside the locker room, not from the stands.

What's interesting is that Mourinho didn't deny the obvious: Vinícius isn't at his best level right now. But he quickly qualified that with a line that sums up pretty well how he manages his players: someone who leaves everything on the field doesn't owe anyone more than what they had that day.

Whoever gives everything isn't obligated to give more. He put in a really good effort in the match. I have a lot of respect for this Vinícius that I've come to know, and the moment will come when he decides games and wins matches.José Mourinho

The coach even dug into recent memory to make his point, recalling a similar situation from a year ago, when he felt firsthand what Vinícius is capable of as he settled a match against Benfica. The underlying idea is simple: the talent doesn't vanish, it just takes breaks.

A kiss for Mbappé

With Mbappé the story was different, but the defense was just as firm. The Frenchman also heard whistles when he was subbed off, and Mourinho answered with a gesture before he answered with words: "When he was substituted I gave him a kiss, and to me that means respect for the work he's done for the team." That put an end to any attempt to stir up further controversy, as he insisted he has no intention of commenting on the crowd's reactions while he's in charge on the Madrid bench.

Mourinho went further and pointed to the standards surrounding the club: "Real Madrid demands a different kind of level. You all like these kinds of questions in case I say I'm angry with the fans, but I'm not angry with the fans."

On the match itself, he didn't hold back either. He called it a "crazy game" and admitted flatly that he didn't like how it played out, acknowledging it could have ended 5-1, 6-1 or even 6-6, and that amid all that chaos Inter wouldn't have deserved to take the three points, because in the key moments it was Real Madrid that created more. Mourinho even joked that the best player on the pitch "was asleep," referring to Thibaut Courtois, though he also had praise for Federico Valverde, who scored the second goal after a high press forced a mistake from goalkeeper Josep Martínez. "Valverde's goal isn't a coincidence, it's a great reading by Fede of the strategy we had," he concluded.