Mourinho moves on after Barca humiliation

Jose Mourinho is confident his Real Madrid players will be over their 5-0 loss to Barcelona when they face Valencia on Saturday.

Real were humiliated by the reigning La Liga champions at the Camp Nou on Monday, as Lionel Messi orchestrated a record-equalling win for Barcelona over their arch-enemies.

Mourinho maintains that the result will not prey on the minds of his players and insists they will return to winning ways at the familiar surroundings of the Santiago Bernabeu.

“The most normal thing now would be for us to return to having positive feelings rather than to continue with the negative feelings from after the last game,” Mourinho said.

“I spoke to my men in Barcelona for about three or four minutes and that was it. It all ended there.”

“It is easy to turn the page because the team that played well won and deserved to, and the team that played poorly lost and deserved to. I hope my players have been able to get over that because now we have another game.”

Real’s star forward Cristiano Ronaldo – a subdued figure during the Camp Nou demolition – had been in doubt for Saturday’s match after sustaining an ankle injury in midweek.

But Mourinho insists the Portuguese captain will gladly soldier on against Valencia for the sake of the team.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is fine. His has character and brute strength. If he doesn’t have an injury that makes it impossible for him to play, he is able to withstand a lot and he can play through pain. He will play against Valencia.”

Sergio Ramos will not play after receiving a red card for aiming a petulant kick at Messi late on at the Camp Nou.

In his absence, the suspended defender is hopeful that Real will be able to atone for the embarrassing defeat.

“Our pride for defending this shirt and this crest is hurt,” Ramos said.

“We cannot change the defeat. We are all to blame and we are committed to moving forward. Now more than ever we have to show the pride that has always identified Real Madrid.”