Champions League: Mourinho wants more aggressive Madrid

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 09:16

Madrid: Jose Mourinho has called on his side to be more ruthless when they face Borussia Dortmund in the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.

Madrid need an incredible comeback after four goals from Robert Lewandowski helped the Germans romp to a 4-1 victory in the first-leg last week and Mourinho believes his side have to perform with the type of aggression they did in the 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

"The team was naive. We played against a player that scored four goals and wasn`t fouled in the whole game, whilst Cristiano (Ronaldo) was fouled five times and the game had barely begun. It was like we were playing a friendly.

"Mentally and physically we need to be stronger. At the Calderon on Saturday I saw a team that knew how to suffer and defend. A team that was compact, united, aggressive and worked towards an objective."

However, Mourinho insisted that the outcome of the second-leg would not have an effect on his future at the club.

"My future won`t depend on that. At practically all clubs, not just Madrid, the success is thanks to the players and the failure is that of the manager.

"We have 90 minutes to play and we are 4-1 down. What I am concerned with is analysing what happened in Dortmund and what we have to do tomorrow (Tuesday).

"The game in Dortmund was so bad that I am not concerned about them, I am concerned about what we have to do better. No player is hiding, we are all in the same boat and all of them want to play, which gives me confidence and hope for the game. In football everything is possible."

Mourinho confirmed that Ronaldo trained on Monday morning and will play despite continuing to feel the aftereffects of a thigh injury picked up in the first-leg last Wednesday.

Alvaro Arbeloa and Marcelo remain Real`s only two absentees through injury, but the return of Michael Essien means that he could line up at right-back with Sergio Ramos moving into central defence after the torrid time Lewandowski gave Pepe last week.

And Ramos said he will play in whatever position is best for the side, although he feels more comfortable at centre-back.

"In the past few years I have played as a centre-back, it gives me more control of the game. Due to the circumstances I had to play at full-back and it wasn`t a problem.

"I have won the European Championships and the World Cup playing there. The manager will look at what is best for the team to decide where I should play."

Ramos had criticised Madrid`s attitude in the wake of the match last week and he echoed Mourinho`s sentiments that they need to be more aggressive on home soil.

"The other day when I spoke of attitude I meant our intensity, aggression and rhythm of our game wasn`t as it should have been. If we have greater intensity and rhythm it will be less of a problem but it is still a very negative result to overturn and will be very difficult.

"We can`t take away the credit from Dortmund, they played a great game and deserved to win but the other day we didn`t win personal duels that we normally do." ----------------- ZEENEWS.com