Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says his players deserved to celebrate their 1-0 win at Real Sociedad.

The victory sent Real to the top of the table.

Mourinho said: "The magnitude of the victory deserved such a celebration. Our opponent, spurred by a great atmosphere, made things hard for us to the very last minute. We always controlled the game. We knew they were strong both physically and psychologically, and that they have a large squad that could bring changes to the game. We knew it wouldn't be easy in the last minutes. We managed to play united despite our exhaustion.

"This is nearly the fifth game we play every three days or so, which has deprived some of my men of their physical and mental freshness. My men lost some quality and danger after half-time, but we gained in collective efforts and psychological strength. We handled the score very well. Last year we suffered in the final minutes and we didn't control them too well this time around."