Mourinho Reacts After Real Madrid Falls Six Points Behind Barcelona
Listen to the story
Real Madrid's coach, José Mourinho, has spoken out after his team fell six points behind Barcelona in the league table.
The gap grew wider after Real Madrid lost the Madrid derby to their city rivals, Atlético Madrid.
Mourinho reacted to the situation with a surprising comment, saying, "You cannot do anything but laugh."
His words suggested he found the situation almost too difficult to believe.
The coach also complained about the refereeing during the derby match.
He claimed that Real Madrid had been treated unfairly by the officials during the game.
Mourinho's comments were sharp and direct, which is typical of his style when speaking to the media.
Despite the strong tone of his remarks, a referees' committee later reviewed the match.
The committee ended up supporting Mourinho's view of the officiating decisions.
This is notable because coaches are often criticised for questioning referees, but here Mourinho's complaints were confirmed.
Atlético Madrid's win over their neighbours has clearly hurt Real Madrid's title hopes.
The six-point deficit to Barcelona now puts extra pressure on the team.
It remains to be seen how Real Madrid will respond in the coming matches of the season.
Vocabulary7 words
- coach
- a person who trains a sports team
- league
- a group of teams that play against each other in a competition
- derby
- a match between two teams from the same city
- refereeing
- the act of controlling a sports game and making decisions
- officials
- people who make decisions in a sports game, like referees
- committee
- a group of people who make decisions together
- deficit
- the amount by which something is smaller than needed
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Quiz
Answer key
1. "You cannot do anything but laugh" 2. Atlético Madrid won 3. They agreed that Real Madrid was treated unfairly
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Real Madrid's coach, José Mourinho, has spoken out after his team fell _____ points behind Barcelona in the league table.
The gap grew wider after Real Madrid lost the Madrid _____ to their city rivals, Atlético Madrid.
Mourinho reacted to the situation with a surprising comment, saying, "You cannot do anything but _____."
The coach also complained about the _____ during the derby match.
He claimed that Real Madrid had been treated unfairly by the _____ during the game.
Despite the strong tone of his remarks, a referees' _____ later reviewed the match.
The committee ended up _____ Mourinho's view of the officiating decisions.
Atlético Madrid's win over their neighbours has clearly hurt Real Madrid's _____ hopes.
The six-point _____ to Barcelona now puts extra pressure on the team.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think Mourinho reacted with humour instead of anger?
- Do you think coaches should publicly criticise referees? Why or why not?
- How important is a local derby match compared to other league games?
- What impact do you think this loss will have on Real Madrid's season?
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