Thursday, 27th March, 2014
Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho expected his former team to dominate La Liga and to be “higher up” in the standings this season.
Mourinho, who currently manages English club Chelsea, expected Read Madrid to take advantage of Barcelona’s decline this season and dominate La Liga.
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Speaking to Eurosport, Mourinho expressed his surprise at the way Real Madrid, with such a star-studded team, have failed take advantage of the league this season.
"I am a little surprised. I expected Real Madrid to be higher up, with a greater advantage, because Barcelona have lost a lot more points than they have in the past three seasons", he said.
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Mourinho has praised Atletico Madrid’s title challenge this season even through their budget is a fraction of either Real Madrid or Barcelona’s spending power.
He termed Atletico Madrid’s spending "an incomparably lower budget" but despite the financial constraints, they "are doing a fantastic job" according to the Portuguese.
For the Chelsea manager, Atletico Madrid’s title challenge this season is a welcome change from the two-team domination that La Liga had become in the recent years.
"People are used to seeing La Liga being a competition for two clubs these last years. Now it has become a league for three. That's good."
Real Madrid slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Sevilla last night. They currently lie third in the league standings with 70 points. Atletico Madrid lead the table with 73 points, followed by Barcelona on 72 points.
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