Real Madrid’s defeat to Atletico Madrid has triggered an uncomfortable feeling within the club that the problems which undermined the team last season may still be there despite Jose Mourinho’s arrival.

According to Mario Cortegana of The Athletic, conversations with sources across different levels of Real Madrid have pointed to growing frustration following the 1-2 defeat at the Metropolitano.

Mourinho arrived with the expectation that he could restore authority and control to a side that had gone two consecutive seasons without a major trophy. 

Yet the derby defeat exposed several of the same weaknesses that have followed Madrid into this new campaign.

In fact, one source close to a first-team player described the performance as “a disaster” because it showed that “nothing has changed.”

What’s the story?

The derby generated plenty of debate around refereeing decisions, particularly following Dean Huijsen’s dismissal. 

Within the discussion, though, there is reportedly a recognition that Madrid’s problems against Atletico cannot simply be explained through officiating.

One source offered a blunt assessment of where the focus should lie, saying, “The problem with the referees matters less than the problem with the football.”

Notably, Real Madrid had entered the derby in reasonably strong form, winning six of their previous seven matches in all competitions, with the 0-1 defeat to Real Betis the only significant blemish.

But the Metropolitano presented a very different challenge.

Madrid struggled to control the game and offered little attacking threat even before Huijsen’s red card. 

The expected attacking power of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. again failed to translate into enough danger, with none of the three managing a shot on target.

Mourinho inherits a team still searching for answers

The scale of the challenge facing Mourinho was already clear before the derby. 

Real Madrid had ended the previous two seasons without a major trophy, while tensions within the dressing room had also become an issue during the 2025/26 campaign.

Those difficulties contributed to Xabi Alonso’s dismissal in January and were followed by the highly publicised training-ground confrontation involving Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Mourinho was therefore not just arriving to improve results. Real Madrid needed a shift in mentality, consistency and control.

The early results had offered some encouragement, but Atletico exposed questions that remain unanswered. 

Real Madrid looked short of authority in possession, lacked attacking sharpness and struggled to impose themselves on a major opponent.

Real Madrid need Mourinho’s promised transformation

The Portuguese coach was brought back to Real Madrid with the task of restoring a team capable of dominating matches rather than merely surviving them. 

The defeat to Atletico, however, suggests that transformation is far from complete.

Barcelona have won the last two La Liga titles, making Madrid’s domestic challenge even more pressing, but before Mourinho can close that gap, he must solve the issues within his own squad.

Simply put, the expectation was that Mourinho would change the team’s trajectory. 

However, after Atletico, some around the club are already asking whether the same old problems have followed Madrid into a new era.