Real Madrid found another way to win, but Jose Mourinho was hardly celebrating the manner of it.

Carlos Espi's injury-time strike completed a 3-2 comeback against Elche, rescuing Madrid after they had surrendered control of a game that appeared to be in their hands.

For Mourinho, the result was welcome, but the performance raised a familiar concern.

In a related development, "When everything seems easy and you let things slide, it's dangerous. Then the team reacts and wins, but it's not pleasant.

"The other good thing is that nobody gets bored with these matches. They're fun," he began saying.

The Portuguese coach was particularly frustrated by another drop in intensity after the interval.

Furthermore, real Madrid had opportunities to put the game beyond Elche before allowing their advantage to disappear. Mourinho believes that pattern is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

"It seems obvious to me. It's easy to understand. These are games that are all but over, where we have chances to seal the deal but don't. After failing to do so, we go from having it easy to losing control.

"If we play poorly from the first minute to the 90th, the concern is huge.

Additionally, "If we have periods where we're at our best and others where we're not proactive, just waiting, lacking intensity… Of course it's a concern. But we won."

Mourinho was happy with the win, but not the performance. (Photo by Francisco Macia/Getty Images)

The win keeps Madrid moving, but Mourinho's concern is less about the points than the way his team is repeatedly making matches unnecessarily complicated.

It is worth noting that carlos Espi again provided the decisive moment from the bench, although Mourinho knows breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with Mbappé ahead of him.

"He's a guy who works hard and is very motivated," Mourinho expressed.

He then added, "He's up against a player who's in a league of his own (Mbappe), and we're well aware of that."