Real Madrid News
Jose Mourinho’s unfinished business with Real Madrid in the Champions League
After three wins in four LaLiga matches, Real Madrid are set to kickstart their Champions League campaign tonight as they take on Inter Milan.
It will be a special game for Jose Mourinho, who famously led Inter to a treble in 2010. But this time, he will be heading Real Madrid, in what will be the first UCL game of his second stint at the club.
The Champions League has always been an interesting story for Mourinho, as far as his career at Real Madrid is concerned.
Mourinho has unfinished business
As reported by AS, Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid in the Champions League was defined by near-misses, despite some remarkable individual numbers.
The Portuguese reached the semi-finals in all three of his European campaigns with the club, only to fall short each time.
It was painful for the club, yet many believe he sowed the seeds for the success that would follow, with Real Madrid going on to win four Champions Leagues in the five years after his departure.
Across his 36 Champions League games in charge, Mourinho recorded 24 wins, seven draws and just five defeats, a hugely impressive return. His side scored freely, particularly with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the line, and kept 16 clean sheets in that period.
A tale of three semi-finals
Mourinho’s European journey with Real Madrid was one of consistent progress but ultimate heartbreak.
His first season saw a solvent, effective side reach the last four, with their only home defeat coming against Barcelona.
The second campaign was arguably the peak, winning 10 of 12 matches, only to suffer an excruciating penalty shootout defeat to Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, with Cristiano and Kaka among those to miss from the spot.
By the third and final season, however, there were signs of wear, with the numbers dipping as Real Madrid again bowed out at the semi-final stage.
Now, a new chapter begins. Mourinho returns to Europe’s elite competition with Real Madrid tasked with finishing the job he started over a decade ago.
This makes it even more important for Mourinho to start on a positive note by winning against Inter Milan, a team which has shown their pedigree at the highest level of football.
With the international break done and dusted, Real Madrid will be back in action this weekend in La Liga, where they will be looking to catch up to league leaders FC Barcelona.
Coming up for Jose Mourinho & co., who lost their last game before the international break, will be a home game against Villarreal on Saturday.
And, leading up to the game, the Spanish capital club have received welcome news on the injury front.
Mbappe back in group training
Indeed, as per MARCA, Kylian Mbappe will be available for Real Madrid’s match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Having been training individually so far this week, the France captain rejoined group training under Mourinho today, taking a concrete step forward towards making himself available for the game.
The forward looked relaxed and ready to work, putting his boots back on and joining the group as Real Madrid prepare for a demanding run of fixtures throughout October.
And, unless there is any unforeseen setback, everything suggests that Mbappe will be ready to start against the Yellow Submarine come Saturday.
Under scrutiny
The past few weeks have been nothing short of eventful for Mbappe, with his every action and movement under heavy scrutiny.
Playing for France, in Zinedine Zidane’s managerial debut, the 27-year-old superstar scored a goal before asking for a substitution due to a knee injury.
Having flown back to Madrid, he underwent tests, which confirmed the injury, although it was not as serious as was initially feared.
The forward then took week-long holiday with his partner that sparked some debate among supporters and attracted criticism from multiple quarters.
Mbappe returned to Madrid on Monday and participated in individual sessions at Valdebebas over the past couple of days. Now he has resumed normal training with his teammates.
There had been doubts over whether Mbappe would be able to face Villarreal after he picked up the injury on 25 September.
However, the recovery plan followed by the forward appears to have worked, and he is now expected to be in a fully fit condition for Saturday’s match.
