Mourinho praises Real Madrid players after Betis defeat, calls them 'naive'

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho praised his players' performance despite their 1-0 defeat to Real Betis in the fourth round of La Liga, in a match held on Friday at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mourinho said his team "controlled the game and played very well," stressing that Real Madrid were the better side and created several chances in front of goal.

The Portuguese manager noted that Betis players were "smarter in pressuring the referee to show yellow cards," which led him to substitute Turkish midfielder Arda Guler—who had been performing well—to avoid a possible second booking.

Mourinho added that "replacing Arda was a difficult decision because of his strong performance," describing Real Madrid players as pure and sometimes naive in certain situations, while expressing admiration for Betis players' intelligence in managing the match.

He also pointed to several controversial refereeing decisions, saying Betis players escaped deserved yellow cards for fouls on Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior, and emphasized that the support of Betis fans played a role in their victory.