MADRID, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho defended his decision to leave central defender Sergio Ramos out of the side that defeated Manchester City on Tuesday night and hinted that he was prepared to do the same when his side visit Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Ramos was left out on Tuesday and replaced by Rafael Varene after Mourinho had criticized his side for last weekend's defeat to Sevilla and many saw the move as a punishment for the defender, who is one of the strongest voices in the dressing room.
The move has also been seen as defending the Portuguese players in the Madrid squad, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe against the Spanish block, which also includes Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas, but when asked about the decision, Mourinho was bullish in his reply.
"Doesn't Varene have the right to play?" he asked when questioned about Ramos. "Pepe and Varene, who played in the last game, did very well, they played it easy and simple and did well in the air. We conceded two goals, but neither was fault of the central defenders."
"Why did nobody talk about Varene being sad because he had not played and his talent has not been used," he continued, before refusing to say whether or not Ramos would play in Vallecas.
The Madrid coach also denied rumors of bad relations between the Spanish and the Portuguese players at the club.
"There is no conflict here," he insisted. "Everyone reacts how they react, but there is nothing more to it than that. The main thing is to score goals and win to keep everyone satisfied," continued Mourinho.
Should FC Barcelona defeat Granada on Saturday, Madrid would go into Saturday's match 11 points behind their main rivals for the title, but once again, the Madrid coach said he was not worried at kicking off with such a disadvantage, he was more worried, he said, about Rayo.
"Last year it was very hard for us to win there. We will not have an easy game and we know that. Every time I read something about Rayo, I read about how motivated they are. They are not looking for a draw," warned Mourinho.