Real Madrid News
Mourinho and Khedira review Real Madrid’s worst game and identify three key failures
Jose Mourinho and Sami Khedira have gone back over Real Madrid’s derby defeat against Atletico in detail, reviewing the match three times to identify what went wrong, reports Defensa Central,
Notably, the derby was arguably Real Madrid’s worst performance of the season so far, prompting Mourinho and his assistant to conduct a detailed review of the game.
Their focus has centred on three problems: defensive lapses, a lack of intensity and Real Madrid’s struggles to maintain possession.
The coaching staff believe those weaknesses must be corrected now that there is an important month ahead.
Mourinho and Khedira scrutinise Real Madrid’s defensive errors
The defensive issues have received particular attention from Mourinho and Khedira.
One sequence that stood out came during Atletico Madrid’s second goal.
As such, Giuliano Simeone was able to get past Marc Cucurella before delivering a cross into the area, with Antonio Rudiger moving across to deal with the danger.
The problem came with the movement inside the penalty area. Jonathan David moved into the box, while Ibrahima Konate positioned himself behind Rudiger.
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Denzel Dumfries also failed to pick up the Canadian striker, leaving David completely unmarked when the decisive finish arrived.
Mourinho and Khedira were particularly puzzled by the situation because Real Madrid had several defenders involved in the play, yet none ultimately took responsibility for David.
The incident is just the type of collective defensive breakdown the coaching staff wants to eliminate.
Real Madrid’s intensity also comes under scrutiny
The second major concern is the level of intensity shown by the team.
Commitment and work rate are central to Mourinho’s demands, and the derby exposed moments when Real Madrid failed to maintain the necessary intensity both defensively and during their pressing.
That affected their ability to recover possession and also allowed Atletico to impose themselves on the match.
Real Madrid had previously shown a much higher level of energy, but that intensity was missing at crucial stages of the derby.
The result was a performance in which Atletico were able to dictate more of the game than Mourinho would have wanted.
The coaching staff now want the players to understand that technical quality alone cannot compensate for a lack of running and commitment.
Mourinho wants his players to control games better
Lastly, possession was another major issue identified during the review.
Real Madrid repeatedly struggled to complete more than three consecutive passes, making it difficult to control the tempo or establish sustained attacks.
Atletico applied pressure without completely suffocating Real Madrid, yet the visitors still found it difficult to play through the press.
Long balls increasingly became the team’s main route forward, rather than controlled possession from the back, which was not the type of football Mourinho wanted to see.
The coaching staff believes Real Madrid had enough technical quality to keep the ball for longer, as players such as Dean Huijsen, Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham could have helped the team establish greater control.
Bernardo Silva’s introduction offered a glimpse of what was missing, but overall, Real Madrid failed to assert their authority.
Real Madrid have identified the midfield department as a key area of the squad that needs strengthening next year.
Having failed to sign Rodri this past summer, the Merengues understand that a major signing is necessary in the position.
Several names have already been linked as potential targets for the Spanish capital club, one of whom happens to be AFC Bournemouth rising star Alex Scott.
Indeed, Real Madrid have scouted the England international this season and are continuing to closely monitor his development in the Premier League.
However, competition for the 23-year-old midfielder’s services is already heating up.
AC Milan eye Alex Scott
Indeed, according to Tutto Mercato (h/t AS), Italian giants AC Milan have set their sights on Scott to replace Real Madrid legend Luka Modric next season.
Modric, at 41, is entering the final phase of his career and his contract with the Rossoneri stands to expire at the end of the ongoing campaign.
As such, the Serie A heavyweights will need to rope in a replacement and have seemingly identified Scott, who is also on Real Madrid’s radar, as an option.
Apart from AC Milan, even Chelsea and Liverpool have also shown interest in the 23-year-old England star, and might even be willing to make a move for him in January.
This complicates the situation for Real Madrid, who would ideally wait until the summer of 2027 to reinforce their midfield unit.
€50 million for Scott?
Furthermore, the report states that Scott is valued by Bournemouth at around €50 million, a fee that could be an issue for AC Milan.
That figure, however, should not pose a challenge for Real Madrid. Nonetheless, the increasing competition for the 23-year-old’s services could drive up the price further, making things complicated.
For now, though, Real Madrid’s interest in Scott has been limited to scouting and monitoring his progress and compiling reports on him.
Whether it translates into a formal approach and offer in the summer or in January itself remains to be seen.
