The summer pre-season ends with an immaculate balance sheet for José Mourinho on the Madrid bench. With five wins and a draw in six friendly matches, Real Madrid approaches its first La Liga trip against Espanyol (Saturday, 9:30 p.m.) buoyed by a very positive dynamic. Remaining for 243 minutes without conceding a single goal, the collective displayed real solidity during the last Madrid matches and this necessarily contrasts with the last appearances of Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa. However, this flattering picture masks another reality. Between staggered returns from vacation and players stuck in the infirmary, the Portuguese technician has not yet been able to field his typical team. However, the first trends seem to be clearly emerging.
José Mourinho will install a 4-2-3-1
As reported A.S. this Tuesday, the transition to 4-2-3-1 now stands out as the tactical reference pattern in the eyes of José Mourinho. This system aims to harmoniously integrate its four untouchable attackers according to our Iberian colleagues: Yan Diomandé, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé. For now, this quartet has not yet played together in friendly competition. During the last test against Schalke 04, Diomandé, Bellingham and Vinícius shared the field well for 25 minutes, but in the absence of the captain of the France team, it was the young Carlos Espí who occupied the forefront of the attack.
Despite the failure of Rodri’s arrival, José Mourinho is counting heavily on Bernardo Silva. Sometimes aligned in a central midfielder or eccentric leader profile, the Portuguese occupies a hybrid role that Bellingham could also occupy during the season. In the double pivot, the competition promises to be particularly fierce between Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva for two starting places. Eduardo Camavinga seems more withdrawn according to the Spanish media. Although widely used during preparation due to his presence from day one, Camavinga still does not seem to start as a starter.
Carlos Espi passed Endrick
The defensive line also remained under construction throughout the summer due to multiple absences. On the left, the late arrival of world champion Marc Cucurella and the unavailability of Ferland Mendy offered massive playing time to Álvaro Carreras, the most used player of the pre-season. Whatever happens, A.S. indicates that Cucurella will be indisputable this season. In the right lane, playing time was evenly shared between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Denzel Dumfries. The two men will compete for a starting place. In the middle, while waiting for the return of Éder Militão and the recovery of Raúl Asencio, the central hinge revolved around Antonio Rüdiger, Dean Huijsen and Ibrahima Konaté. It is still difficult to imagine which pair will line up on Saturday for the first championship match.
Up front, the offensive animation already offers several certainties and great promises on the bench. If the Diomandé-Bellingham-Vinícius-Mbappé quartet starts with a head start, Arda Güler has made his tenure as playmaker perfectly profitable with two assists. Proving that the 4-2-3-1 offers him an ideal setting even though he has never played in this position since his arrival in Spain, he is considered Mourinho’s number 1 super-sub. For the rest, Brahim Díaz asserts himself as a preferred option on the right flank, while the young Carlos Espí shook up the hierarchy by establishing himself as Mbappé’s digital double in front of Endrick. It remains to be seen whether changes will be necessary in the coming weeks.
