Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria (right) is on the ball seconds before scoring past Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop during their Spanish league match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho wants Real Madrid to help him tackle referees after his side scraped a 1-0 win at home to Sevilla on Sunday, despite having had defender Ricardo Carvalho harshly sent off early in the second half.

"There were 13 serious mistakes by the referee," Mourinho told the post-match news conference at the Bernabeu while waving a piece of paper with the incidents typed on them.

"I don't feel under pressure when I am doing what I like doing, and I like to coach. I am tired of this. My team needs to be defended. If I say what I think, I will be on the front pages tomorrow and I will be suspended.

"There is a club and a structure and I want them to defend my team from there."

Mourinho indicated that someone had prepared the list for him and that he needed others from within the club to take up the issue so that he did not pick up a punishment.

He also said he wanted to have a private meeting with president Florentino Perez.

"I have a good personal relationship with the club, even though we think differently," he added

The Portuguese has already served a two-match ban for being sent off in the Copa del Rey's after showing contempt to a referee, and picked up another ban in the Champions League.

He was fined and suspended after allegations that he had engineered deliberate red cards for two of his players in their Champions League match at Ajax last month.

Carvalho picked up a second yellow card against Sevilla after 63 minutes when he clashed heads with Alvaro Negredo as they jumped for a high ball. Despite being a man down, Angel Di Maria grabbed a late winner in a scrappy match, which ensured that Real remained two points behind leader Barcelona going into the winter break.

"The game was forgettable," Mourinho said. "It was too ugly. I wouldn't have paid anything to watch it. At home, I would have put on Eurosport to watch one in Vietnam."

Barcelona goes into the winter break with 43 points from 16 games, two ahead of second-placed Real.

Earlier, Atletico Madrid recovered from its Europa League exit to beat Malaga 3-0 away and climb to sixth with 26 points.

Atletico, which failed to pass the group stage in the defense of its European title, used its heads to sink former Real coach Manuel Pellegrini's Malaga.

Portugal midfielder Tiago nodded it in front from a Simao Sabrosa free-kick after 22 minutes and he headed across for defender Alvaro Dominguez to score following another Simao free-kick in the 66th.

Three minutes later, Tiago headed the third at another set piece to wrap up the points. Atletico is ahead of Getafe on goal difference after Getafe came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Almeria.