MADRID, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho confirmed he will make changes to his starting lineup when his side hosts newly promoted Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Madrid has won its opening two games this season, beating Espanyol 2-1 away before a 4-1 home victory over Real Sociedad. However, speaking to reporters on Saturday, Mourinho stressed that the World Cup has made preparations for the new campaign difficult.
"I never tire of repeating that there are players who have had different preseason experiences, but we have a strong squad with solutions to compensate for these issues," Mourinho said.
The coach confirmed that Spain international Marc Cucurella was in line to start on Sunday ahead of Alvaro Carreras, but explained, "if Cucurella runs out of steam, we have Alvaro to come on. It's the kind of solution a squad like this provides a coach."
Mourinho was also asked about record signing Yan Diomande and pointed out that because of his transfer from RB Leipzig, "Diomande arrived late and had a difficult summer. He didn't train with Leipzig."
"When he arrived, he didn't have a fitness base to work with, but he's progressing gradually. He's getting better and better," Mourinho said.
Mourinho was optimistic that the quality of Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe would "push them and everyone else to be better and better. I couldn't be happier with just a couple of weeks of working together," before praising Jude Bellingham.
"He's unique," Mourinho said, adding that the England international has "different talents: physical, mental, tactical, recovery, his goal-scoring ability, his aerial game. He's impressive."
However, Mourinho insisted that despite the individual quality in his squad, collective performance remains the priority.
"The team has to function as a team, play as a team, suffer as a team, struggle as a team, and dominate as a team," he said. ■
