Real Madrid recorded just a second victory in eight games against Barcelona on Sunday night, with the return of Jose Mourinho to the fixture haunting the reigning champions.
In the first Clasico of Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid, Barcelona ripped his side to shreds in a 5-0 win at Camp Nou. A 2-1 win in the first Clasico of his second spell suggests Mourinho’s Real Madrid can challenge Barcelona’s recent LaLiga dominance in his first season back in Spain.
Although the chances were shared out evenly, with Barcelona
racking up more shots on goal, more possession and more passes
throughout the match, those statistics were not an
honest reflection of the game. Real Madrid played as if they had
the answers to the test Barcelona posed.
“The lads played an extraordinary match,” said Mourinho in
his press conference afterwards.
“Very organised, focused, and showing the courage to play
the ball out from the back against an opponent that applied a
lot of pressure.”
Time and again, Mourinho’s side moved the ball with urgency
and precision in their own half to escape Barcelona’s pressing.
Fede Valverde was praised for playing through injury by
Mourinho, but above all he embodied the presence of mind to
identify where the space was whenever the ball was turned over.
The Uruguayan did so from the right-back position, despite
stating in September 2025 that he was “not born to play as a
full-back.”
Valverde later denied he had expressed any unwillingness to
play in defence, but a number of Spanish outlets took this as a
suggestion he was not pleased about doing so, and perhaps he was
not on board with then-manager Xabi Alonso’s style of
management.
For a third game in a row, the Real Madrid captain started
at right-back and delivered a captain’s performance. Valverde’s
impressive showing in his unfavoured position demonstrated
Mourinho not only is finding tactical solutions to get the best
out of his players, but is winning over the Real Madrid dressing
room.
Mourinho remarked that leaving Camp Nou just three points
behind Barcelona “gives us peace of mind, and it’s well
deserved.”
The victory over Barcelona should help to boost morale and
build unity within the Real Madrid squad. More importantly,
Mourinho now has evidence his methods can help return Real
Madrid to the summit of Spanish football.
“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for
nothing, because Madrid isn’t playing to win at the Camp Nou,”
Mourinho said.
“They’re playing to win the championship” — a statement that
now looks closer to reality after two defeats in September had
sown early doubts about Mourinho’s plans.
Source: Khaleej Times