The first fixtures of Match day three of la Liga certainly did not disappoint, as drama was aplenty in many parts of Spain. Real Madrid's 4-2 victory over Getafe was not the most attractive match of the night, but the three points earned have allowed los blancos to take advantage of a Barcelona slip up and sit pretty at the top of the standings (yes it's early but I'm going to gloat anyways). Naturally the "Special One," the players and the press had some things to say about the match.
It is fitting that we start with Mourinho himself, especially because he had some interesting points to say about Benzema, the penalty decision, and some of the recent comments being made about la Liga. He even touched on his preparations for Wednesday's Champions League opener against Dinamo Zagreb:
"Benzema deserves full credit for his transformation. He had small help from me, from his teammates and from Zizou, but he deserves the credit. He has a fantastic attitude and he always had quality. People see that. Then Higuain came on. He had scored with Argentina and played at a high level, scoring a goal of his own. It's just as I said yesterday: they are both very good strikers."
"I'm not happy with my team tonight. We deserved to win and did, but we missed many chances to score. We had too many chances with the little football we actually played. I'm not angry with anyone, but I want to know why the team didn't do well after having such a fantastic start to the season. I want to study this match. I like to try to learn why my team didn't do things right."
"It's not a penalty. That's a fact. It was a clear tackle and Cristiano didn't dive. A player that's already been booked especially doesn't dive. It's not a penalty. I think Getafe played a very good game and we didn't...I'm convinced we would have won the match with or without the penalty. ..."
"We may be drunk on information and opinions each match in this league generates. I wouldn't like the comments of quality that go around if I coached teams like Levante or Getafe, who are regarded by some (not me) as being bad teams. They are professional and good sides that work hard to win. It's obviously hard because there are tough opponents out there. We may have heard it would be an easy game once too often and it proved to be complicated. Every game is difficult from the get-go and we may drop points too. The only good thing I saw about us tonight was that we took three points and I don't like that feeling.""I haven't read the info I have on Dinamo Zagreb. I take things one step at a time. I have info on all their games, especially the last two. We had someone following their clash with Hadjuk Slit tonight. Of course we have everything on them and I'll start to study it when I get home tonight."
I know that was very long, but I think that everything he had to say was good and to the point. Very, very, well-said, Señor Mourinho.
I've posted all the major things, but you can read the full article here.
Moving on to the players, we begin with scorer of the brace, Mr. Karim Benzema, who elaborated to the press about his form and his fellow striker Gonzalo Higuain.
"I'm in top form and have a lot of faith in myself. Mourinho and the President do too, which helps. I work on each game at a time and train hard every day. Higuain played very well. We both want to score and help the team all the time."
Sergio Ramos also gave his thoughts about the match.
"It wasn't one of our best games, but the victory is important because we took three points. We have a positive vibe due to this, but we're not happy with our performance in the first half. We want to do our best."
Captain Iker Casillas spoke about the match, and about the road that took him there.
"It was a complicated match, but we were efficient. Real Madrid is filled with young talented people. It will soon be the 12th anniversary of my first match. I was 18 years old and was very nervous. I laid the foundations that day of the path that's brought me here today. I've become more responsible and mature with age. Looking back I admit I realize I've had a great run. I hope to win many more titles."
I am sure we all agree that his run has been somewhat successful over the years.
Scorer of the team's fourth goal, Higuain, was also on hand to give his thoughts about the match. "Pipita" talked about the fixture and Madrid's next objective.
"Things got complicated for us in the first half, but we managed to win the game after half-time. I'm actually very happy because I scored in the few minutes I was on the pitch. We will now rest and start to think about our Champions League game."
For more interviews with the players, you can visit here and read all the comments made post-match.
The press was also active throughout the day; however, the most interesting article I found was from goal.com. The headline reads: "'Hay Liga!'- how a spectacular Saturday in Spain showed there's more to life in the Primera Division than just Barcelona and Real Madrid." It is certainly worth a read. Personally, I agree and disagree with several points, but they make plenty debatable ones nonetheless. Tell me what you think below!