Mourinho allows team to spend time with family after 8-0 romp over Levante
Mourinho allows team to spend time with family after 8-0 romp over Levante Real Madrid's Pepe celebrates with teammates after Real Madrid score a goal during their 8-0 thrashing of Levante in the Copa del Rey yesterday in Madrid. Pic/Getty Images
Jose Mourinho was delighted with the way his team ended 2010 as they thrashed Levante 8-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey (King's Cup) tie yesterday.
Mourinho revealed the players will receive a small gift as a result of their heroics in the first leg. 
"Before the game start, my players asked me if I would allow them to spend the night of January 5 at home with their families if we won 4-0," he said.
"I told them we would travel on the day of the match if we got six. So we will travel on the day of the match, not as a sign of disrespect to our opponents ufffd we drew our league game there ufffd but because we feel it is important to have that night at home."
When Mourinho first took charge of Madrid at the start of the season he was often criticised for being too defensive for the club's expansive tastes, but since then his sides have shown more attacking intent and it was certainly on display last night.Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo both bagged hattricks, while Mesut Ozil and Pedro Leon added further strikes.
"We thrilled the crowd, but it also thrilled us," Mourinho said. "It was a beautiful and fun game, especially for the younger crowd at the stadium tonight.
"I'm sorry for Levante's professionals because it is always harsh to lose this way, but I'm happy with the way we ended the year.
"We've won 20 of our 25 official games, drawn 4 and lost only one. My men played a serious game tonight and that's the only way to earn such a victory."
Mourinho was particularly pleased with the performance of Benzema, who has struggled for much of the season. "What matters is that Benzema played well," he said.
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