Journalist Welcomes Mourinho Back to the Bernabéu for the Champions League; Mourinho: "I Played Here Last Season"

September 10 – After leading Real Madrid to their first Champions League win since his return to the club, José Mourinho corrected a journalist's claim about him "returning to the Bernabéu for the Champions League" during a CBS interview, reminding them that he had already been here last season while managing Benfica.

In this round of the Champions League league phase, Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde. After the match, a CBS reporter told Mourinho how pleased they were to see him back at the Bernabéu for the Champions League. The 63-year-old smiled and corrected him: "I actually played here last season when I was managing Benfica."

Last season, Mourinho's Benfica faced Real Madrid in the Champions League playoff. At the Bernabéu, Benfica narrowly lost 1-2, with Tchouaméni and Vinícius scoring for Real Madrid to complete the comeback. The two-legged tie was tightly contested.

The reporter then clarified that they meant seeing Mourinho back on the Real Madrid bench. Mourinho responded: "Yes, but the Champions League is the Champions League, isn't it? I really enjoyed playing in it last season with Benfica. But when you manage Real Madrid, you feel something different. I don't want to call it motivation or responsibility, because I had those in equal measure at Benfica too, but you feel the weight of this club's history."

On the start to the new Champions League campaign, Mourinho said: "It's not that the second or third game out of eight is crucial. But if you can start like we did today—by beating a top team and taking all three points—then that's a great start."

In the previous weekend's league match, Real Madrid suffered their first defeat since Mourinho's return. Troy Parrott, a former Tottenham player under Mourinho, came off the bench to score the winning goal for Real Betis.

Real Madrid will face Rayo Vallecano next weekend and hope to avoid falling further behind Barcelona in the league title race.

Mourinho previously managed Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, and this is his second spell in charge. During his first tenure, he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. Upon his return, his goal will be to win those honours again—and possibly surpass the success of his first spell.

Source: The Sun