Mourinho eyes top spot in La Liga

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has praised his team for putting themselves in a strong position midway through the La Liga season.

The Portuguese boss urged people to have a general outlook on their performance, rather than focus simply on their 3-1 loss to rivals Barcelona last weekend.

“We are co-leaders in the league, we won every game in the Champions League and we played in the Copa del Rey. We are league leaders and now want to be alone,” Mourinho said during a press conference ahead of Madrid’s meeting with Sevilla on Saturday.

“The league is different from cups. Last year we were two points behind the leader at the end of December. Now we can extend the difference to three points, stay one ahead or be tied (with Barcelona).”

“Either option is better than last year, but no situation is final, nobody expected it to be. The motivation is that there are no points to make up this time.”

The former Inter boss also expressed his sympathy for Barcelona striker David Villa, following his broken leg against Al Sadd in the Club World Cup on Thursday.

“I know how it will affect Barcelona, but major injuries sadden me, whoever the player and whoever the team,” said Mourinho. “I’m terribly sorry.”

Mourinho went on to discuss the potential threat posed by Sevilla, likening the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to a fortress, but is confident Madrid will prevail.

“I think it is one of the most complicated pitches in the league, but we have studied them, we know what their strengths are and they can play with a forward or two, more or less closed, with or without backlash. We are prepared,” he said.

“Madrid has had a very difficult schedule; the Madrid derby, the Clasico, Valencia, San Sebastian, Gijon – we’ve had more games on the road than anyone.”

Mourinho also confirmed that winger Angel Di Maria will be available for selection against Sevilla after returning to Argentina to mourn the death of his father.