When Jose Mourinho walked back through the doors at Real Madrid this summer, 13 years had passed since he last left the club. He returned with a familiar reputation and enormous expectations, but facing a very different challenge. Mourinho was handed a three-year contract, with the club hoping he could restore stability as well as success after two trophyless seasons.
Now, seven league matches into his second spell, some of the familiar tensions of last season have already resurfaced. Defeat by rivals Atletico Madrid has left supporters questioning Real Madrid's consistency and Mourinho's approach. The Portuguese coach now has plenty of time to consider his options during an unusually long three-week international break.
Madrid do not play again until they host Villarreal on Saturday, 10 October - and travel to Barcelona two weeks later. Mourinho has concerns about the break, but it is an early opportunity to take stock and prepare for a run of fixtures that could tell us much more about the direction of his second spell at the Bernabeu. Mourinho prints out 'red card' incidents after Real lose derby An iron fist joining a broken team: Inside Mourinho's Real return For Mourinho, the derby defeat at Atletico Madrid was a sobering reminder of the scale of the challenge he has taken on.
Despite blaming much of the loss on two first-half decisions he felt went against his side - Cristian Romero escaping a red card for his studs-up challenge on Jude Bellingham and Lee Kang-in going unpunished for a similar challenge on Federico Valverde - the reality is that their performance was simply not good enough. It means Real Madrid sit fourth in La Liga, with defending champions Barcelona already six points ahead. They have won all seven of their league games, scoring 31 goals, with Raphinha already scoring 12 times.
Atletico sit second and Real Betis third, both five points behind Hansi Flick's side. The only time Real Madrid have overturned a six-point deficit to Barcelona at the top of La Liga was in Fabio Capello's 2006-07 title triumph. A clear issue from the defeat at Atletico was Madrid's lack of control in midfield.
Mourinho started Aurelien Tchouameni alongside Valverde, with Bellingham playing further forward. The pairing gave Madrid energy and defensive security, but they struggled to control the tempo or create enough from deeper areas. Bernardo Silva was introduced for the final eight minutes, but by then Madrid were already chasing the game.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
