José Mourinho is facing early pressure in his second spell at Real Madrid after a derby defeat by Atlético Madrid exposed familiar problems with consistency and his tactical approach. The result has left Madrid fourth in La Liga, six points behind unbeaten leaders Barcelona, increasing the importance of the upcoming international break and a demanding run of fixtures.

Madrid struggled to control midfield, create clear chances and combine their attacking talent effectively, with Kylian Mbappé largely isolated and Vinícius Júnior unable to make a decisive impact. Mourinho must decide whether to add more creativity through players such as Bernardo Silva or Arda Güler, while also finding a better balance between Mbappé, Vinícius and Jude Bellingham; he also criticised two alleged unpunished red-card incidents, although the team’s overall performance was poor.