Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas said he accepted the decision of coach Jose Mourinho to drop him from the starting lineup against Malaga on Saturday. The 3-2 loss meant that Los Blancos fell to 16 points behind La Liga leader Barcelona, which won 3-1 at home to Real Valladolid.

"The coach decides which team he thinks is best for each match, and you need to accept the decision," Casillas told La Sexta. "I'm not used to being a substitute, but above Iker Casillas or any player is the team. What I need to do is continue training and try to recover the confidence of the coach.''

When pressed about whether he expected the decision, the 31-year-old said, "Throughout the week, I could sense that I wasn't going to play, but it's not a setback. Mourinho didn't explain anything to me. He doesn't do it when I play, nor when I don't.”

For his part, Mourinho said the decision to drop Casillas had been “purely technical,” and that he had a “clear conscience” in making it. Some newspapers in Spain have suggested that Mourinho decided to drop the Spain captain to aggravate Real President Florentino Perez.