Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has said that mental power was the key to his side's narrow 1-0 away win against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Gonzalo Higuain grabbed the only goal of the game in the first half as the Spanish giants successfully carved out a victory to provisionally go top of the Primera Division table.

After scoring 21 times in their previous five domestic fixtures before their visit to the Basque region, Mourinho admitted that the win by a single goal was a tough one.

"In the last few minutes, we managed to play with fatigue,” the Portuguese is quoted as saying by Marca.
“We lost physical freshness in the second half but we won the game with our mind which helped us control the game.”
Mourinho made four changes to his team following their 3-0 home victory against Villarreal on Wednesday, and the former Chelsea manager defended his decision to rotate his squad.

"I changed four players and I am pleased by the response of my team," he enthused. "We have now finished a very difficult month and a very difficult week in which we also beat Malaga and Villarreal."

Real Madrid return to Champions League action on Wednesday evening where an away win against Olympique Lyonnais would confirm their qualification to the round of 16 with two games to spare.