The defeat against Betis (1-0) on Friday evening brought more than one Madrid fan back to earth… After three victories in a row to start La Liga, José Mourinho’s men lost to the first big opponent who stood in their way. While it is true that a draw would not have been a scandal, Real Madrid having had several interesting opportunities including a missed penalty at the end of the match, the content offered by the Merengues in certain sequences reminded many fans of Real in recent seasons.
At a press conference, the Portuguese coach nevertheless explained that his team deserved to win, and also attacked the referee of the match a little. In any case, this match against Inter on Tuesday to launch this new Champions League season is eagerly awaited by Madrid public opinion, since it will be the first big test of this Real Madrid 2026/-2027, even more so than this meeting against Betis.
A Real already decimated
A meeting for which Mourinho faces a huge headache. Effectively, A.S. indicates that the Portuguese coach cannot prepare for this meeting in the best conditions, since he will have a lot of absentees in the middle. Bernardo Silva is thus suspended, because of a red received against Real Madrid last season. The same goes for Eduardo Camavinga, who was sent off against Bayern, while Aurélien Tchouameni has not yet recovered from his physical problems.
Arda Güler, who could have been used in this double-pivot, is also suspended because of this match against the Bavarians. Thiago Pitarch is injured. José Mourinho therefore only has one real midfielder available: Fede Valverde. What solutions? Jude Bellingham could go down a notch, he who is playing very high on the pitch at the start of the season. But it’s an option that the Portuguese doesn’t really like, who prefers to see him near the surface. Trent Alexander-Arnold can also play in this position, while the option Dean Huijsen in the middle is also being studied. Finally, the Special One could count on the young Jorge Cestero as a last resort. See you on Tuesday, with Real Madrid who have no room for error.
