"As a center back, his absence is clearly detrimental. Overall, I'm satisfied with our team's defensive players' performance, though we've scored fewer goals in recent matches, which is normal because our opponents typically only play one match a week."
Mourinho's comments after the match were interpreted by some as suggesting he intentionally lost the match to pressure the club into giving Pepe a contract.
Of course, this interpretation varies from person to person and is subject to individual perspectives.
Some also mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored one goal in the last three matches, something Mourinho is not worried about, "He is a very important player. There's no doubt he is at the peak of his career right now and will have a very wonderful season, I'm confident of that."
Mourinho also denied that losing to Osasuna was related to Chen Zhong not starting, "Apart from Chen, there are many outstanding players in the team, and we cannot ignore them because of Chen."
