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The Story So Far.. |
El Clásico arrives on the back of two impressive performances by Real Madrid, against Sevilla and Leipzig. Both matches were at home and saw Mourinho moving towards are more deliberate attacking posture with deliberate use of ball possession and positional rotations towards that very end.
The two major changes were perhaps down to the matches against Villarreal and Roma respectively. In both games Mourinho moved Valverde to Right-Back after starting him in midfield.
The Villareal game changed with the introduction of Vinicius but what followed after Yan Diomande’s winner likely changed the trajectory of Real Madrid’s season. Vinicius had a goal disallowed and received a straight red card attached to a 4-match ban in La Liga. The match saw Arda Güler move into midfield and Valverde to Right-Back, giving the team more balance and structure to exploit the strengths of the players. A narrow 1-0 win with 10 men but a monumental narrative shift. Or was it?
Mourinho would start Vinicius against Roma and continue with the double-pivot of Tchouameni and Valverde.. I’m sure both the boys mothers know that relationship is doomed. The players simply do not complement each other in those roles. Roma ran riot and into a comfortable 3-1 lead against a seemingly dysfunctional Real Madrid. Mourinho rang the changes again. The introductions of Arda, Espí, Endrick, Carreras and Bernardo Silva.. turning a lacklustre performance into a spectacular 3-4 remontada.
The evidence was in. Valverde and Tchouameni don’t do well as a pair in midfield. Tchouameni can play Centre-Back but there’s no need for him there and he really can’t play anywhere else. Valverde on the other hand can play everywhere and had now shown how much the team improves with him at Right-Back. Arda Güler’s playmaking from midfield was also now undeniable. Yan Diomande’s winner against Sevilla and his performances in general showed that if anything we should be a better team with him.
José had front row seats to all of this. Against Sevilla, he started Valverde at Right-Back, Arda Güler in midfield alongside Tchouameni and Yan Diomande at LW. The surprise inclusions were perhaps Dean Huijsen and Endrick. Huijsen is an elite ball progressor playing at Centre-Back and Endrick is a forward who will force the issue no matter where he plays across the front line. The result was a spectacular 4-1 win with wonderful performances from Arda and Fede in their adapted roles. Mourinho would continue in this vein for the Leipzig match, this time Bernardo Silva started alongside Camavinga with Arda and Fede on the Right. Arda Güler’s influence on ball progression and chance creation was aided by his freedom to roam into midfield while Bernardo played as a second striker at times. This was arguably the most progressive game or setup we’ve seen from Mourinho since his return to the Bernabeu. The result was a spectacular 4-1 win. 12 goals scored in 3 games.
BMT | Calma
Big-Match Temperament. Real Madrid need to rediscover their mentality for big games. José Mourinho is one of the very few managers who has built a legend on managing and winning big matches. His Real Madrid squad has it’s weaknesses but for all the nuances about whether or not the squad has all the right profiles, the talent at his disposal is not in dispute. The biggest challenge for Real Madrid is not eking out a win against Villarreal or a remontada against Roma in Italy on a Champions League night. These are par for the course at Real Madrid. The biggest challenge is against the biggest teams. Teams who want the King’s head on a spike.
Mourinho’s dressing room isn’t short of big personalities. Some might argue he’s got too many but he is slowly redirecting that energy towards the fight out on the pitch. Taking Vinicius out of the team and then moving Valverde to right-back are major shifts and consequential to the trajectory of the team. Some might argue Mourinho did not drop Vinicius and that the suspension is a mild reprieve. Mourinho dropped Vinicius for the Villarreal game and had substituted the Brazilian comfortably and frequently in the games prior. The suspension if anything might be a rationale for Vinicius and his camp but for those of us observing the trends.. There is no doubt that Diomande was already in Mourinho’s mind to replace Vinicius on the left.
Can this team win a big game?
Arsenal, Bayern, Atletico and Barcelona come to mind as one thinks of our performances in big games.
No Room For Error | A High-Stakes Clásico
Real Madrid absolutely need to win the Clásico. The domino effect of losing the game can derail the season and eliminate all the progress accumulated so far. Real Madrid need to make it through these deep waters. A 9 point gap against the two-time La Liga defending champions who are scoring for fun in La Liga is not something that will go down lightly in Madrid. There is no room for error now. A draw might suffice but a loss eliminates any room for error. The team will need to be perfect or near perfect all the way through January all the while hoping their rivals stumble along the way. Real Madrid are currently 3rd in La Liga behind the Mattress Makers who have the bragging rights over us for the second season going.
🗣️ Mourinho: “Clásico? If people thought a week ago that we were going to be soundly beaten, they’ll likely still think so. The fact that people speak well of Barcelona doesn’t affect me, it has nothing to do with me.
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) October 24, 2026
There are moments that deserve praise because they do some… pic.twitter.com/Dimb5r35vL
It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Ideally, this clásico should be seen as a game that comes too soon for us and as something we take lessons from, whether we win, lose or draw. The same will be true when we face Arsenal in the Champions League. These games prepare us for the second half of the season when silverware will be handed out. We cannot make a determination of our entire season on their outcomes but they will show us our current level more than our trajectory.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
There are only 3 outcomes for ElGrandeClásico. We can win, lose or draw. In the worst-case scenario we are comprehensively beaten but a superior team on the day. We fall, 9 points behind in the league and have to revise our realistic objectives for the rest of the season. In my view, the manager should continue to have the support of the club and fans. The team is on an upward trajectory with a manager who is keeping a lid on the dressing room and has the senior players on his side. The work is far from finished and derailing all that work over the results of a game before we’ve even reached the halfway point of the season would be far worse than the sacking of Xabi Alonso last season with 3 pieces of silverware still in play.
