Jose Mourinho has blamed Real Madrid’s stuttering form in January on their poor record in knock-out competitions prior to his arrival.
Real played nine games in January and dropped five La Liga points courtesy of a 1-1 draw away to Almeria and a 1-0 defeat at Osasuna.
The disappointing results have left the club seven points behind defending champions Barcelona on the La Liga table.
And coach Mourinho believes the missed opportunities are a result of the team’s lack of experience in regularly playing two games per week.
“For two years Madrid have been eliminated early on in the (Copa del Rey) competition,” Mourinho said.
“I think that we have been knocked out of the Champions League at the first two-legged tie for six or seven years now, and so the players are really used to only playing in the league.”
“Humans are creatures of habit, players are human and they are creatures of habit. After this year’s preparation, next year they will be ready to play more games every week.”
Real have failed to score more than one goal in each of their last five matches, which Mourinho also attributed to the team’s congested fixture list.
“The dip in form of the regular goal-scorers seems to me to be a normal question,” he said.
“We are playing against teams who aren’t playing in midweek, against teams who prepare for a week to face us.”
Real host Sevilla in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Wednesday, with a precious one-goal lead from the first meeting at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
“After the win in the first leg in Seville, the team has looked very motivated to get to the final,” Mourinho said.
“Madrid haven’t been in (a final) for many years, and we are one game away from doing so. Obviously it will be a difficult game, with the result from the first leg rather open. The team are up for Wednesday’s game and want to get to their first cup final in a long while.”
Star man Cristiano Ronaldo has only found the net once in his last four matches, but Mourinho refused to criticise a player who has already contributed 32 goals in all competitions for the club this season.
“You always depend on the most important players,” he said.
“Ronaldo is a fundamental player for us, and we want him to continue to give his best for us. I’m the last to get on his back for not scoring or for the team not winning. He is having a fantastic season.”
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