These observations — where I look at
Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found here.Here is a new thing I’m committing to this season: Five semi-informal bullet points after each game.
Also, check out the post-game podcast where Sam and I break down the win (and more) for 1 hour and seven minutes:
- I did not agree with some of Jose Mourinho’s post-game assessment, particularly this:
“If we’d started the match with the same 11 who finished it, they’d have scored five
against us,”
The reality is that his starters were down 3 – 1, and could’ve easily found themselves down 5 – 1 had they stayed on the pitch.
But it is true that you have to give Jose Mourinho credit for his second half adjustments which ultimately overturned the result.
But, a lot of Mourinho’s second half changes are dice rolls after his own initial plan was shredded. Sometimes, like this game, these emergency subs have enough time to make a comeback; but other times, like the Real Betis game or Atletico Madrid games, a handful of minutes for the likes of Carlos Espi, Endrick, or Bernardo Silva are not enough.
Mourinho’s schemes are typically conservative and reactive rather than proactive, which I think doesn’t work with the specific group of starters he puts out, mainly for the following reason(s):
- This starting line-up is a disaster against most teams, let alone against one of the most aggressive pressing teams in Europe.
In the above article prior to the game, I had noted that Roma are going to come in with intensity and aggressive pressing. It was imperative that the team’s best ball progressors were all on the pitch.
But, unfathomably, not only did Mourinho omit one ball progressor, he omitted four.
It’s already problematic that the Fede Valverde – Aurelien Tchouameni double pivot treat the ball like it’s a ball of flaming hot lava; but Mourinho escalated his own issue by leaving Arda Güler, Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Dean Huijsen all on the bench.
Look, I get it: Trent has defensive issues and Bernardo is not who he used to be. Why are we pretending Dumfries has been better than Trent (even defensively) or Tchouameni and Valverde are both holding it down to any impressive degree?
(I value Trent’s ball progression over his defensive liabilities — especially within the context of this squad.)
I haven’t seen many defend the Valverde – Tchouameni pairing, but those that do often point out that it brings defensive stability.
I haven’t seen that aforementioned stability. Perhaps it exists in theory more than it does in practice. Bernardo Silva does not cover any less ground defensively, and the key point here is this: Roma’s chances were coming from turnovers, not just defensive positioning. Valverde hides in the build-up phase, and Tchouameni’s on-ball ability is not good enough to mask it.
- Thibaut Courtois is not the football equivalent of Tom Brady
I send Courtois a virtual hug after every single game. It’s the least I can do from my chair. For years he turns up as the team’s best player, makes the scoreline better than it should be, and is left to dry by shambolic defending.
I’m very confused as to how this played out, but mostly confused about Mourinho’s scouting report of Roma.
Roma, quite predictably, went to a man-to-man high press when Courtois had the ball. Courtois had no choice but to hit long ball prayers, and went 3-of-17 with his long ball attempts. Poor guy.
If that was somehow Mourinho’s plan, Kylian Mbappe’s hold up play just isn’t good enough for it. A couple times Courtois actually did have nice vertical long range passes, but Mbappe’s first touch was poor.
I think it’s the plan — or apparent lack of it — that gets me every time.
- It’s 2026. Arda Güler, the best creator in Europe, should not be on the bench in any big game.
- Endrick and Espi are two players I’d like to see more of. They are not just emergency-type players, they are valuable squad players that can contribute more than their limited roles. Espi continues scoring at an insane rate per minute, and Endrick is fearless and relentless.
