Jose Mourinho returned to Real Madrid this summer with one job at hand. Restore Los Blancos to their best.
After seven games, Real Madrid sit fourth in La Liga with five wins and two defeats. They’re already six points drift of Barcelona who remain perfect after seven matches. Mourinho has a big task on his hands this season.
While Real Madrid did manage to win their Champions League opener against Inter Milan, the same question marks were there.
So what is going wrong for Mourinho’s Real Madrid?
In this article, we’ll cover
Midfield issues
Real Madrid’s buildup ideas are fairly simplistic. Mourinho often wants his side to form a back three on the ball. Marc Cucurella either stays low at left-back, or Aurelien Tchouameni drops into the backline to allow the Spaniard to move higher.
On the other flank, there are two options. Denzel Dumfries has been pushing on to provide width on the right, with Arda Guler drifting inside. But Trent Alexander-Arnold drifts inside and rotates with the likes of Federico Valverde to disrupt the opposition press.
But the problems begin to arise when you look at how Mourinho instructs his team to play, and the midfield profiles within it. Real Madrid’s midfield unit lack two key components right now — control and penetration.
Lack of control
Mourinho’s system isn’t based on controlling possession. Real Madrid average just 52.5% possession in La Liga this season, some way off rivals Barcelona (68.6%) as a comparison. Much like Carlo Ancelotti, Mourinho prefers to empower his players to make decisions and find solutions.
By allowing them to play to their instincts, control will often come from having a midfield group that can manage games and moments. Both slowing it down when needed, but also speeding things up and progressing play through the lines.
Right now, Real Madrid lack this instinct. Instead of trying to play through the thirds, they are often forced wide or direct, where the game games up and they lose control. While the directness and willingness to cede possession can help gain advantages for the star players up front, it can also lead to more stress on the defensive unit.
But, Real Madrid have only conceded 7.70 Expected Goals in La Liga this season — the third-best in the division. That’s despite ranking closer to mid-table for their shots faced (89) and shots on target conceded (31).
A potential solution to this would be the usage of summer signing, Bernardo Silva, in the double pivot. The Portuguese midfielder is used to controlling the tempo at Manchester City and having those instincts to manage games but also shift the tempo and find progressive solutions through the centre.
Clashing tendencies
Clashing tendencies among certain players has been a running theme at Real Madrid. The first obvious one is the positioning of both Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. Both players prefer to drift over to the left channel, which can drag bodies across the pitch with them. No one really wants to leave the duo two-on-two, which forces the opposition defensive scheme to over-rotate.
However, this can also lead to the pair getting on each others’ toes. Particularly considering both like to be isolated in one-on-one opportunies against defenders and attack larger spaces.
Then there’s the duo’s pressing structure, and the sacrifices made within it. Real Madrid are one of the lower-intensity pressing sides in La Liga this season, avering 14.3 passes per defensive action (PPDA). However, Mourinho’s side to have the most high turnovers resulting in a shot (15), due to Vinicius Jr’s role.
Vinicius Jr often looks to cheat his defensive role, allowing the full-back to run off him. But it leave the Brazilian in plenty of space if Real Madrid can retrieve possession — turning this into a dangerous transition opportunity in Los Blancos’ favour.
On the other hand, this forces a lot of tension and pressure on Cucurella at left-back. The Spaniard is often left in one-on-two situations to deal with down his flank.
While this can be a source of Real Madrid creating chances of their own on the break, it is also a reason for chances conceded. So finding the right balance in that department is key.
Absorbing issues
As mentioned, Mourinho is happy to somewhat cede possession in order to gain advantages on the break. But to create these advantages, Mourinho’s sides of old have had the ability to be compact and absorb the pressure coming their way.
Even when Real Madrid are defending in their 4-4-2 shape lower on the pitch, Vinicius Jr’s concentration can often lapse. This gives the opponent chances to exploit two-on-one overloads down his side.
Mourinho has attempted to solve this with Jude Bellingham. The Englishman initially presses as a second striker alongside Mbappe, before dropping into midfield. This allows Valverde to shift across and support Cucurella, while maintaining the 4-4-2 shape.
But compactness is slightly harder to achieve with these moving parts. It often leaves spaces at the edge of the box, or between the lines, for the opponents to exploit.
Lack of pressure
Another clear issue with Mourinho’s current system is the lack of pressure on the ball from the front. This creates a number of issues for Real Madrid, with the rest of the defensive unit behind the front press lacking clarity in their actions.
Typically speaking, if you cannot get pressure on the ball, the defensive line is supposed to drop off. This gives the player on the ball time to pick passes over the top into the space. Whereas, if you can jump to pressure the ball and stop an easy pass being made, the backline can be more aggressive to deny the space between the lines, without the risk of the space being accessed easily in behind them.
Due to Real Madrid’s pressing issues and the workrate of their forwards even when defending low, the midfield and defensive units often look hesitant and stuck in two minds with their actions. This in itself can create gaps for the opponent to exploit.
Luckily, Real Madrid do have one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the world, Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian makes absorbing pressure easier, making big saves and giving them the chance to turn a successful defensive passage into an attacking transition. But how long can they sustain it without further improvements and changes to fix certain issues?