Real Madrid News
Real Madrid will be without three midfielders for UEFA Champions League opener vs Inter Milan
Real Madrid will begin their Champions League campaign on September 8 against Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Having failed to go beyond the quarter-final stages last season, the Merengues will be hoping to buck that trend and make it all the way this time around.
However, having been handed a tricky league-phase tie, the Spanish capital club will have a series of challenges ahead of them, starting with the game against Inter.
And, Jose Mourinho will have several players unavailable through injury, but the European opener will also be affected by suspensions carried over from last season.
Three players suspended
Indeed, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, Arda Guler, Eduardo Camavinga and Bernardo Silva are all suspended after being sent off in their final Champions League appearances of the previous campaign.
UEFA carries over red-card suspensions from one season to the next, even though yellow cards are wiped, meaning Mourinho currently cannot count on any of the three unless an exceptional pardon is granted.
Güler and Camavinga saw red against Bayern
Guler and Camavinga were both sent off for two yellow cards in Real Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Guler’s second booking came after the final whistle for his complaints to the referee. There had initially been concern that the Turkish midfielder could receive a longer suspension, but UEFA ultimately handed him a one-match ban, the same punishment given to Camavinga.
The French midfielder received his second yellow card during the closing stages of a match that ended with Real Madrid’s elimination after a 4-3 defeat.
Bernardo Silva’s suspension came against Madrid
Bernardo Silva was sent off while playing for Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16, ironically against Real Madrid.
The Portuguese midfielder was shown a straight red card after deliberately preventing a goal with his hand.
The incident resulted in a penalty, which Vinicius Jr. converted, while the veteran midfielder received the suspension that he now carries into the new European campaign.
Unless UEFA intervenes, Mourinho will therefore have to begin his Champions League campaign without three important midfielders when Inter visit the Santiago Bernabeu.
So, it will be interesting to see who will partner with Federico Valverde in midfield on the night, considering that Aurelien Tchouameni is also still not fully fit, having returned from the World Cup with a niggle.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
