José Mourinho has praised the condition of Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior after the winger's first appearance of pre-season, insisting the Real Madrid man needs time to rediscover his full fitness.
Real beat Hungary's Ferencváros 2-1 on Saturday evening in a friendly at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.
Mario Rivas opened the scoring before Carlos Espí added the second, with Kenan Kodro netting for the hosts.
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The game marked the first pre-season outing for both Vinícius Júnior and Bernardo Silva, who came on as second-half substitutes after returning late to training following their World Cup involvement.
Mourinho spoke of Vinícius in comments to the club's media after the match: "The most important thing is the renewal. The contract renewal is a source of happiness for him, of course, but it is also a source of happiness for all of us."
The Portuguese added: "He has done little training, he and Bernardo, and they are among the players who entered the match after having taken part in training only two weeks ago."
"They played while feeling exhausted and tired, as a result of the effort and work we have done. I did not expect Vini today to take the ball, run 50 metres with it and score a goal," he continued.
The Madrid boss expects Vinícius to build up his sharpness in stages. "This process takes its time, and he will certainly be in a better position next Wednesday (against Deportivo La Coruña)," he said.
Bernardo's fitness
Bernardo Silva arrived recently from Manchester City, and Mourinho did not hold back on his condition: "Bernardo is a very important player. He is the type of player who completely switches off mentally, and does not do anything during the holiday period, and he came back with much lower physical fitness, and it needs to be developed."
"But Bernardo is a wonderful player who gives us excellent build-up with the ball, whether he plays in a deeper position or in midfield (the 6 or 8 position). During the match I saw that he lacks physical strength, so I moved him to the 10 position, and I brought on Cestero to give more stability there. The 10 position is another spot where Bernardo is comfortable," he added.
Versatility matters to the coach. "He is the type of player who can play in 3 or 4 positions, and this is excellent for any coach. Especially since we want a small squad consisting of only 20 players, in addition to the injured such as Rodrygo, Militão, and Ferland, whom we will not be able to recover in the coming weeks," Mourinho went on.