MADRID.- Defeated 2-1 by Athletic in Sunday’s derby, the real Madrid of Jose Mourinho, Already down in the fight for the league title, he charges against the refereeing to hide his shortcomings and the incompatibility of the trio Mbappé-Vinicius-Bellingham.
At Real Madrid, coaches pass, but on the pitch nothing changes after two seasons without major titles.
It was assumed that with the return of “Mou”, the club would regain order and some fundamental principles to be competitive again.
But it has only taken seven league games for Real Madrid to be chasing their eternal rival, the F.C. Barcelona, league champion in the last two years and leader of LaLiga with six points ahead of the whites.
The culprits for the defeat in the derby, the second so far this season, are the same ones that the white leadership has identified for some time as those responsible for all the ills of the entity: the referees.
The same arbitration group that, according to the president Florentino Pérez, would have “stolen seven leagues” since he joined the club for the first time in 2000 and “14 points” last season alone, to favor Barça.
This time they are the referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias and the person responsible for VAR, Daniel Jesús Trujillothose pointed out by Mourinho at a press conference, with screenshots printed on pages as proof of the alleged conspiracy of which the entity is a victim.
The Portuguese coach accused the derby referees of having forgotten to show “two red cards” to Lee Kang-in already Christian Romero by separate stomps on Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham.
However, Mourinho, a master of this type of communication strategy, refused to endorse his president’s conspiracy theory, unlike his predecessor. Alvaro Arbeloaacknowledging that his team is also missing “many things.”
Lack of planning
To begin with, without true sports planning, there is a lack of a game idea and a collective structure.
All this despite the seven summer signings, among them Marc Cucurellaone of the best left backs in the world, Ibrahima KonatéFrench international central defender, and the Ivorian Yan Diomandé, one of the greatest promises in world football, acquired at a price of gold.
On Sunday, in Metropolitanthe meringues were once again incapable of generating play and even gave the ball to their rival, without pressure or collective organization to recover it, weighed down by the passivity of Mbappé, Vinicius and Bellingham, who defend on foot.
Vinicius on target
The three superstars have few excuses to justify their lack of solidarity, sometimes compensated by their individual talent, but it is not enough.
Mbappé, scorer of seven goals in seven games, and Bellingham, systematically forced to plug holes, are relatively spared from the criticism, directed first of all towards Vini, replaced by Diomandé in the 54th minute after another catastrophic performance.
Since his renewal at the beginning of August (until 2032), the Brazilian winger, without a goal and unable to beat his marker or combine with his teammates, shows no signs of improvement.
Several voices are already criticizing the club for having offered a golden contract to a player who still has not recovered the level of the 2023-24 season, when he finished second in the Ballon d’Or…behind such a guy Rodriwho seemed to be signed by Real Madrid and ended up at Barça.
Fans and influential voices in the Spanish press demand that Mourinho take a hit on the table to reactivate his team, starting by starting Diomandé on the left instead of Vinicius, and deciding in the midfield between Bellingham and Arda Güleras well as between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde.
The first responses are expected after the break, at the beginning of October, against the Villarreal in LaLiga, and then against the Rome in the Champions.
The season has just started and Mourinho no longer has any margin for error.
