Mourinho in Catch 22 with Benzema

With Real Madrid down to one striker, Jose Mourinho may be forced to go ‘hunting with a cat’ against Real Zaragoza on Sunday.

Surgery is expected to rule out Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain for two months, leaving Karim Benzema as Mourinho’s only available forward.

Benzema netted a hat-trick as Real beat Auxerre 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Mourinho is reluctant to overuse the Frenchman in La Liga.

“If I don’t start Benzema I will be penalising a player who had a great match earlier this week and who deserves the chance to be happy,” Mourinho said.

“But if he starts and I have to change things around, I will have to play (Raul) Albiol or (Ezequiel) Garay as a centre forward. I know what is best for Benzema, but I need to think about what is best for the team.”

“I know there will always be critics. There are different ways of playing and different styles of thinking. You hunt successfully with a good dog and not so well with a cat, but you still hunt.”

Despite Real’s lack of options in the final third, Mourinho is proud of the team’s achievements thus far during his first season in charge – and the Portuguese is not prepared to let injury problems derail the campaign.

“We have won 11 league matches, five Champions League matches and one Copa (del Rey) match in six months of competition. We must continue making progress without any tears.”

“Just like I didn’t complain six months ago when we lost Kaka, I cannot be talking about Higuain every day. We obviously have some hurdles to overcome.”

Real are widely expected to brush aside Zaragoza on Sunday, but Mourinho maintains the bottom club’s present position is not a true reflection of their abilities.

“Zaragoza will not finish last because they have a ton of talent, their coach has a lot of experience and because of football dynamics,” Mourinho said.

“I don’t think they will have much trouble improving their situation, but I obviously hope tomorrow they don’t notch any points.”