Real Madrid News
Real Madrid dressing room left furious after Atletico loss: ‘They put a coward in charge’
Real Madrid endured a frustrating night at the Metropolitano, losing the derby 2-1 against their city rivals under controversial circumstances.
Los Blancos were reduced to 10 men in the second half after Dean Huijsen was given a red card for a last-man challenge.
Real Madrid’s frustration extended well beyond Mourinho’s explosive press conference, with the dressing room reportedly furious over the refereeing at the Metropolitano.
According to AS, emotions were running so high after the derby that Madrid decided not to send any player to speak to the media.
Madrid dressing room erupts after derby
The club feared that, given the mood inside the dressing room, whoever appeared could say something that resulted in disciplinary action.
“They’ve really screwed us over! They put a coward in charge of refereeing,” was one furious comment heard inside the Madrid dressing room after the final whistle.
The anger centred largely on challenges involving Cuti Romero and Kang-in Lee, which Madrid believed should both have resulted in red cards.
Romero caught Jude Bellingham with a stamp, while Kang-in’s challenge on Fede Valverde went unpunished.
Valverde was later revealed to have been injured from that challenge and is set to miss two to three weeks of footballing action.
Madrid were also unhappy with two early challenges from Alex Baena on Arda Guler which, in their view, could have resulted in yellow cards.
Real Madrid decided against player interviews
The report says Madrid’s players were so incensed that the club intervened rather than risk allowing those emotions to spill into public comments.
Even though Mourinho was explosive in his presser, he was aware enough of the words he was using.
The Portuguese coach brought images of the Romero and Kang-in incidents into his press conference, using them instead of words to drive home his point.
Tensions had already boiled over at half-time. Antonio Rudiger and Morten Hjulmand were involved in an altercation in the tunnel, while Atletico goalkeeping coach Pablo Vercellone and Mourinho assistant Pedro Machado were sent off.
Inside Madrid, there is also unhappiness about decisions in other matches involving their title rivals, including incidents from Atletico’s game against Osasuna and Barcelona’s meeting with Levante.
All this means Los Blancos find themselves six points behind Barcelona heading into the first international break.
There is a lot of room for improvement for Mourinho’s side, and players like Vinicius Junior really need to pull their socks up.
If Madrid do not fix up soon, Barcelona could run away with the La Liga title, and it remains to be seen how the team play once club football resumes.
One of the biggest positives for Real Madrid from the last season was the breakthrough of young midfielder Thiago Pitarch.
The 19-year-old La Fabrica prospect had been in the first-team dynamics since pre-season under Xabi Alonso, but finally got his senior debut under Alvaro Arbeloa at the turn of the year.
From that moment on, Pitarch did not look back at all, gaining prominence in the team and even starting important matches ahead of established players like Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos.
However, things have not gone as per plans for the teenager this season as he has yet to play a single minute of first-team football.
January loan no longer ruled out
As such, Diario AS now reports that Pitarch would consider leaving Real Madrid on loan during the January transfer window if his situation does not improve.
The teenage midfielder suffered an injury in pre-season which kept him sidelined for a few weeks, denying him an opportunity to start the season under Jose Mourinho.
By the time he returned, the Portuguese tactician had already identified his preferred hierarchy in midfield, with the likes of Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Aurelien Tchouameni and Camavinga firmly ahead in the pecking order.
A stark difference from his debut season
In his debut season, Pitarch ended with 16 first-team appearances for Real Madrid with two assists to his name.
In contrast, this term, the academy graduate has been called up to the matchday squad for five games by Mourinho this term, but has yet to play a single minute of football.
Given the situation, he used the international break to jump down to Castilla and play close to 250 minutes across three games, during which he also registered an assist.
The situation is far from ideal for a young talent who needs regular minutes to continue his development and build on his impressive breakthrough campaign.
As such, the possibility of a departure on loan in January could be considered, after Pitarch turned down offers in the summer to stay at Real Madrid.
A lot will depend on how things evolve in the next couple of months, but a temporary exit cannot be ruled out.
