With just over a minute left in stoppage time, Real Madrid’s Bernardo Silva held the ball a few meters away from the penalty area, with many teammates in front of him eager to put the ball into the net and equalize for Atletico Madrid. It’s not hard to imagine Silva achieving such results, not only because of his own skills, but also because Real Madrid are the kings of taking points from their opponents on days when they don’t deserve them. It was down to luck that Silva’s free-kick was so valuable – they were flat for 85 minutes, but Antonio Rudiger’s goal from a set-piece in the 89th minute meant they only needed one more thing to take home an undeserved point.
However, Silva’s goal was lackluster.
The ball quickly fell into the hands of the opponent, who effortlessly cleared the ball out of the penalty area. Real Madrid left the Estadio Metropolitano with a 2-1 scoreline, six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona. Mourinho’s side were third in the table at the final whistle, but as long as Real Betis Select at least one point la coruna La Coruña.
No matter how you feel about Sunday’s loss to their city rivals, Real Madrid’s misfortune was well deserved. Real Madrid are vulnerable to complaints about refereeing and may try to link the argument that Dean Huijsen’s red card in the 53rd minute for denying a scoring chance and Alejandro Grimaldo’s subsequent penalty undermined their game plan. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong – it’s obviously more difficult to win a game with one man and one goal – but the chaos was caused by the visitors, and the problems started long before the centre-back was sent off.
The Madrid derby is one of the most entertaining games on the La Liga schedule, but the first half was dull with neither team living up to expectations. The pair had a combined 10 shots on goal, with an expected goals ratio of 0.22, of which only 1 was on target. Both Real Madrid and Atletico shared responsibility for this lackluster performance, but at least manager Diego Simeone had the foresight to do something about it. Atletico Madrid boss brings in midfielder soon At half-time, centre-back Marc Pubill moved Marcos Llorente from his midfield role next to Johnny Cardoso to full-back. The plan worked – Atletico were too respectful to the visitors in the first half, but these substitutions allowed them to take advantage of their opponents’ tepid play, particularly their disorganized defence. Huizen’s red card was a natural result; Grimaldo’s penalty was a deserved reward.
Real Madrid were unable to win the ball back from Atletico Madrid, who had 65% possession after the break, but their poor performance in the first half was an example of this. The period following Huizen’s sending off only exaggerated the experience – Atletico were wreaking havoc thanks to Jonathan David’s quick second goal in the 59th minute. As the game progressed, Real Madrid were completely unsure of what to do and they were uneasy about their next move.
Mourinho brought in a series of substitutes, with Silva, Rudiger, Eduardo Camavinga and Jan Diomande all capable of making their mark, which seemed to be the manager’s only move. Diomande, along with Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham (who spends most of his time on the pitch), are trustworthy players who have the onus to figure things out themselves, but this approach will only work in the end, even if Real Madrid have tested those specific limits. Again, it was difficult to find a cohesive idea – Mourinho could have asked these players to win the ball and then rush towards goal fast and furious, something they looked relished at times. Real Madrid never really committed to the plan, or any plan, for that matter, and their coach’s indecision proved costly.
None of this comes as a surprise to anyone paying attention. Real Madrid have been engaged in the most expensive atmosphere-only strategy in the game, without realizing that this approach is always doomed to fail. The decision to hire Xabi Alonso a year ago seemed to be an acknowledgment of that fact, but his brief tenure was an example of the team sinking into aimlessness, and none of their moves since then have made much sense. The addition of Mourinho is the most important – it has been more than ten years since he last won the league title with Chelsea, the 2016-17 Europa League with Manchester United and the 2021-22 UEFA Conference League title with Roma. This is the only bright spot since then.
Mourinho’s ability to build teams with a clear identity has declined over the past decade, with the manager bouncing around Europe taking different jobs but failing to really leave a mark. He has now been reduced to narrative, but Mourinho’s spectacle was as tired as his game plan – he came to Sunday’s post-match press conference with a few pieces of paper arguing that Atletico had committed two different fouls worthy of a red card and thought that was the whole story of the game. Admittedly, this makes him more interesting than his peers, but after more than two decades of Porto fame, none of this is surprising – he’s no longer box-office material.
“We can skip the press conference because the history of the game is here. These are two clear red cards,” Mourinho said. “The appointments committee must be delighted. It’s all very strange.”
His antics only serve to distract from the task at hand, which was never hypothesis Mourinho has seen the best of times, but he’s not the only one to blame. He inherited a team that could not get out of its own way and was doomed to fail because leaders such as club president Florentino Perez refused to acknowledge that the team’s imbalance would cost them season after season. For all Real Madrid’s individual qualities, there was little cohesion, leading to their stars essentially marking themselves as present but doing nothing more than confirming their attendance. It’s almost too early to sound the death knell after seven games of a season, but after two trophyless seasons at Real Madrid, it’s hard to imagine them actually mounting a title charge this time around.