Mourinho´s great expectations

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has fired a warning shot to his rivals after his side thumped Valencia 6-3 in La Liga on Saturday.

Mourinho’s side burst into a 5-0 lead thanks to a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain, who also provided two assists.

And although Valencia scored twice in the last 10 minutes to add a little respectability to the scoreline, Real coasted to victory just three days after clinching the Copa Del Rey against Barcelona.

Real face an uphill battle to wrest the La Liga crown from their arch rivals this season, trailing by eight points with five games remaining.

But Mourinho says his men are only going to get better and is expecting big things from them next season as they hope to break Barca’s hold on the league.

“I always say that the second season should be better than the first,” Mourinho said.

“It should be the consequence of what the players have learnt, what the manager has learnt about the players and what the manager has learnt about a competition that is new to him.”

“A team of this class and low average age have to change a lot normally. We always have to learn, having changed two or three players. Next season, we won’t have to get to know each other, so we will start a step ahead.”

“My teams are normally better in my second season. It happened at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. I hope that it is like that at Real Madrid.”

“We have won a trophy and are in the semi finals of the Champions League and are still title contenders. This is a good, positive start that gives confidence to the group.”

Valencia boss Unai Emery was disappointed with the result and admitted his team were poor, before asking for the fans to forgive the team.

“The team didn’t defend well, attack well or foul,” Emery said.

“We never showed character. We ask forgiveness of the fans, and know that we failed this test.”