Mourinho: Di Maria has overcome doubts

After his side’s 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has praised the impact Angel Di Maria has made in La Liga.

Mourinho believes the winger, who netted the opening goal on Saturday in El Molinon, has proven his critics wrong after question marks were initially raised about his 36 million-euro move from Benfica to the Santiago Bernabeu before the 2010/11 season.

He now believes his faith in the Argentine international’s ability has been vindicated.

“When he came to Spain, no one knew why he signed for Real Madrid,” Mourinho told reporters after the match.

“He played for Benfica in the Champions League but did not stand out, while he didn’t have a very good (2010) World Cup, but I knew he could offer traits that I like.”

“He is humble, always evolving and believes the team is above everything else. I like his simplistic approach and character.”

Mourinho also expressed his delight at the performances of midfielders Sami Khedira and Lassana Diarra, the latter of who was selected in the absence of Xabi Alonso.

The former Inter and Chelsea manager, however, made it clear that the 30-year-old Alonso was an indispensible part of his plans.

“Lass and Khedira worked well together as defensive midfielders and were also organised,” he said. ”

“There is only one Xabi Alonso, but I’m happy with them.”

Mourinho offered his analysis on the match, and felt Sporting made his team dig deep to claim the three points.

“Last year we won only 1-0 here and lost at the Bernabeu, but they are extremely organised and use good, aggressive tactics. If they don’t score, it is (still) difficult to beat them,” he said.

“We had not created many chances in the first half, but we spoke at half-time and the second half (performance) was the difference.”

Real Madrid wll head into Saturday’s El Clasico with Barcelona three points clear of their bitter rivals on the La Liga table.