This Madrid of Mourinho does not understand summers, at least for now. The white team ended August with confidence, running over Málaga (4-0), linking three wins in three matches and eight goals in the last two rounds, both at the Bernabéu, 10 in total. The Portuguese has Mbappé and Bellingham switched on, with one goal each against the Andalusians, and connected to a team that will face bigger challenges in September.
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It was a surprisingly calm afternoon. It helped that Málaga, fragile in defense. It helped Bellingham, in an inevitable scoring trend since the World Cup. And it helped, in general, a flashy and efficient Madrid, capable of going 3-0 up by the half hour, a comfort they hadn’t known since November 2019, still in Zidane’s first spell.
It is undeniable that Mourinho, at least for now, has returned the competitive spark to the team. Problems will come, as he himself has warned, but ‘his’ Madrid increasingly resembles what the Portuguese wants. Against Málaga he didn’t need to raise the pace of the game too much and was content to be patient for the Andalusian defense to open spaces, but he showed drive, physicality, and finesse in the opponent’s area. Qualities that were missing during part of the last months.
The Portuguese started with a small revolution. Five changes to ease efforts after two matches in a few days. Dumfries, Konaté, Carreras, Güler, and Silva rotated out and Trent, Rüdiger, Cucurella, Camavinga, and Brahim came in. Aware of the contexts that developed last season, the Portuguese kept Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius, and Mbappé, who took charge, especially the Englishman and the Frenchman, of sealing the match by the half hour.
Málaga let the whites think too much, who with Valverde and Camavinga could have struggled to keep calm against a tighter defense. But it was all easy. Also credit to a Madrid focused on stealing after losing the ball. Málaga barely breathed with the ball.
The whites grew on the right wing, where Trent was always a clean outlet for his teammates, and they accelerated the pace when Bellingham and Mbappé saw space to run. That’s how the first goal came. The Frenchman received in the final third, turned, and left two opponents behind in barely five meters. The ball was loose for Bellingham, who continued the run towards the area, shaking off defenders and crossing the ball past Herrero. Málaga asked for a foul for an elbow on Recio, but the Englishman’s hand had touched more on the chest than on the face. 1-0 and a positive dynamic for the Brit.
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With the threat of a siesta, Mourinho came out several times from the technical area to keep his team’s spirit, giving instructions and applauding his players’ effort in pressing. And 2-0 came quickly. Madrid easily reached the edge of Málaga’s area with just a few small combinations, a fatal circumstance for the Andalusians. In one of them, Brahim found Mbappé in a dangerous zone, he turned and tested Herrero. Bellingham headed the rebound and the goalkeeper put it into his own net after an attempted deflection by Puga. Bad luck for Funes’ men, but the momentum of the match condemned them.
Málaga was in ‘shock’ and Madrid downhill. Cucurella, Trent, Valverde, and Camavinga had sensational minutes in which the Bernabéu did not miss Güler or Bernardo Silva. The whites didn’t need to think too much because the duel was faster, at a gallop.
By the half hour, the sentence. Between Mbappé, Valverde, Brahim, and Trent they created superiority on the right side, the English full-back ended up unmarked on the edge of the area and put in a strong and measured cross for Mbappé, who first-timed a quality finish to Herrero’s right.
The quick rout left the match without story for the second half. The Madrid stars came close to the fourth in several flashes from Bellingham, who hit the post in another superb run into the area, and found reward in stoppage time. After half an hour of siesta, Güler closed a festive Sunday by finishing a good run from Vinicius down the left.
Madrid faces a new month with the joy of points and the feelings of someone who seems to have started from scratch.
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