The manager of Real Madrid, José Mourinho, highlighted in the hours leading up to the derby against Atlético de Madrid that “there are no favorites in derbies. Playing in derbies is more difficult because the opponent is a great team, but easier because the fans motivate you more and will be ready to give their all.”

'Atlético have had a week to prepare and focus on this match and are facing another team that has worn itself out and only has two days. Furthermore, they’ve been playing one game per week for a long time, and the forces aren’t balanced, though we’ll try to even them out with the quality of the squad and motivation,” he stated.

To finish, the Portuguese coach assured that “we’re going to give all that we have and we’ll see whether or not that’s enough.”