With the Ballon d’Or ceremony coming just 24 hours later in London, there was barely time to draw breath – and conclusions – from the first Clasico of the campaign.
“I think the performance said that Mourinho has found a way to play with this Real Madrid side,” said TNT Sports’ Spanish football expert Phil Kitromilides.
“At the start of the season, he wasn’t quite sure. He is back at Real Madrid for the first time in 13 years, and it took a while for him, I think, to figure out the pieces of the puzzle. But now it looks like he has, moving Fede Valverde to right-back, bringing in a creative midfielder alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, and not having Valverde and Tchouameni in that double pivot – which really saw Real Madrid struggle to create any kind of football.
“Then having Arda Guler as a fixed piece in the puzzle on the right-hand side, and Yan Diomande coming into this team and performing absolutely brilliantly, helping out both attack and defence.
“Those changes and those pretty big calls from Mourinho to take those big decisions have proved very, very successful. Nobody expected Bernardo Silva to start the Clasico. I was trying to think of the starting XI for many, many days, and nobody in this country had Bernardo Silva in their starting XI for the Clasico except Jose Mourinho. And he knew exactly what he wanted to do, how he wanted to use him, and it worked.
“I thought Real Madrid were very, very well organised, really well set up. They were very committed, everybody playing for their team-mates as well. Defensively, how they were set up in terms of breaking Barcelona’s passing lines – it was an excellent performance all round, individually, but as a collective as well. And that’s something that we haven’t really seen from Real Madrid [of late].
“Now, the problem is, here’s the thing: Real Madrid players get beaten with this by their fans year in, year out; they get up for the big games and produce these kinds of performances in the biggest matches of all, and then they go away to lesser-ranked opposition in La Liga and they don’t show that same kind of intensity, that same kind of idea.
“So I think now Mourinho has the idea. He has the prototype of how he needs this Real Madrid side to play. The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. But now they need to consistently show that as well.
“It’s going to be a big question mark when Vinicius is available to start. He’s currently serving a four-match domestic ban. Does he come straight back into the team? Does Mourinho sit him on the bench? At the moment, there’s no way he can come straight back into the starting XI. Yan Diomande is miles ahead of him in terms of his production and what he’s brought to this team, both attacking and defensively.
“So Mourinho is getting there slowly but surely. He had a slow start with two defeats to Atletico Madrid and to Real Betis, but I think the Clasico is the blueprint now for the way forward for the rest of the season.”
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‘Surely the most difficult match he’s had’ – Mourinho hails Cucurella for performance against Yamal
Video credit: SNTV
Vinicius’ confidence is ‘absolutely shot’
The form of Vinicius is one looming situation on the horizon.
“We’re getting maybe a little bit carried away and very excited with the performances of Yan Diomande in the last few weeks, when he has really burst onto the scene,” Kitromilides said.
“I think his performances have also just been highlighted because of the contrast to Vinicius. In the last couple of games, Vinicius hasn’t even attempted a single dribble, which is the defining aspect of his game. Forget the goals, forget the assists, Vinicius is a player that dribbles, and usually those dribbles are quite successful.
“His number for successful dribbles this season is way down, and in the last two games he didn’t even attempt any. That shows a player whose confidence is absolutely shot.
| Vinicius’ last five games | Date | Mins played | Dribbles attempted | Dribbles completed |
| Elche (a) | 15 Sept | 68 | 1 | 0 |
| Atletico Madrid (a) | 20 Sept | 54 | 1 | 1 |
| Villarreal (h) | 10 Oct | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| Roma (a) | 14 Oct | 59 | 0 | 0 |
| RB Leipzig (h) | 21 Oct | 70 | 0 | 0 |
“It feels like quite a long way back now for Vinicius in terms of redemption, getting back into the team and getting back to his best.
“He has been given a six-year contract. The club showed immense faith in him in the summer. They improved their offer to him – which Real Madrid don’t do; they do not improve them – but they did for him because they wanted him to stay. And at the moment, he’s not been anywhere close to being able to repay that faith shown in him.
“Diomande works defensively a lot harder than Vinicius Junior does. And at the other end of the pitch, he’s showing that spark that Vinicius has been lacking this season. He’s taking players on, he’s creating, and he’s scoring as well.
“So, like I said, I think it’s going to be very difficult for Vinicius to get back into the team. At the moment, we’re only in October. There’s a long way left of the season, and there’s still very much a place for Vinicius in Real Madrid’s starting XI.
“But I think the explosion of Diomande has also asked some questions about whether or not it was the right decision to renew Vinicius when you’ve spent £120 million on this teenager who can play in his same position and has done really, really well in Vinicius’ absence. And that goes back to maybe broader questions about the planning and organisation of the Real Madrid squad at a higher level.
“So it’s not looking good for Vinicius at the moment, but there is still a way back for him.”
Bellingham ‘will challenge’ for Ballon d’Or
Alongside Diomande, Bellingham was one of the architects of Madrid’s victory in Catalonia, proving tireless in midfield and showing Zinedine Zidane-esque footwork late on to help set up Kylian Mbappe’s winner.
Kitromilides feels that “generational talent” Bellingham could be in line to emulate England compatriot Kane as a Ballon d’Or winner in future years.
“Jude Bellingham is absolutely the leader of this Real Madrid side,” he said. “Kylian Mbappe was brought in as their star, and perhaps he was expected to lead.
“But it’s Jude Bellingham that leads on the pitch. He leads by example. He leads by intensity. He leads by how competitive he is in every single match. And people are really impressed by what he’s been doing in the last few weeks under Jose Mourinho, who has given him a bit more of a free role and allowed him to roam, get forward when he wants, and get back and defend where he wants.
“He’s covering a huge amount of the pitch, and his performance in El Clasico was absolutely superb, both defensively and helping out attacking. I think he was a big part in bringing a balance to a Real Madrid midfield, which hasn’t had so much of that this season.
“I think he’s an exceptional player. I think his mentality and leadership are what you need at a club like Real Madrid. And I think we’re talking about a generational English footballing talent.”
