Real Madrid: How Mourinho's 2026 start compares with 2010

Jose Mourinho has won six of his archetypal 8 matches successful some of his spells arsenic Real Madrid manager, but the similarities mostly extremity there: his 2026 broadside are scoring much freely portion conceding astatine a complaint astir unthinkable during the opening weeks of his archetypal Bernabeu reign.

Sixteen years aft archetypal taking complaint of Real Madrid, Mourinho has returned to a nine facing immoderate acquainted problems.

Madrid had gone 2 seasons without a large trophy erstwhile the Portuguese arrived from Inter Milan successful 2010, with Pep Guardiola's Barcelona dominating Spanish shot and the Champions League trophy having eluded Los Blancos since 2002.

There are echoes of that concern successful 2026. Madrid person again endured 2 trophyless seasons, Barcelona are mounting the aboriginal gait domestically and Mourinho has been backed heavy successful an effort to rebuild the squad.

The concern has changed dramatically.

Madrid spent astir €74m connected six newcomers successful Mourinho's archetypal summer, including Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Ricardo Carvalho.

This time, six players person arrived for a combined €225m, headed by £107m winger Yan Diomande, alongside Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espi and Denzel Dumfries, portion Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva joined without transportation fees.

After 8 competitory games, however, the astir revealing examination is recovered connected the pitch.

Mourinho's 2010 Madrid instantly recovered antiaircraft control

Mourinho's archetypal Madrid broadside opened with six victories and 2 draws.

They scored 15 goals crossed those 8 matches but conceded lone twice, keeping six cleanable sheets portion avoiding decision altogether.

Mallorca and Levante were the lone teams to forestall them from winning, portion Madrid bushed Osasuna, Real Sociedad, Espanyol and Deportivo La Coruna successful La Liga and Ajax and Auxerre successful the Champions League.

That antiaircraft information rapidly became 1 of the foundations of Mourinho's archetypal season.

Madrid yet conceded 33 league goals successful 2010-11, 2nd lone to Barcelona's 21, portion their onslaught developed dramatically capable to decorativeness with 102 goals.

They ended the run 4 points down Guardiola's champions connected 92 points, reached the Champions League semi-finals and defeated Barcelona successful the Copa del Rey final.

The aboriginal caution truthful did not forestall Mourinho from processing an explosive attacking side.

What stands retired compared with 2026 is however rapidly his archetypal Madrid squad became hard to hurt.

More goals person travel with acold greater vulnerability successful 2026

Mourinho has again recorded six victories from his opening 8 matches, but determination person been nary draws this time.

Defeats to Real Betis and Atletico Madrid mean the existent broadside person collected 18 points from a imaginable 24, compared with 20 astatine the equivalent signifier successful 2010, contempt some teams posting the aforesaid 75% triumph rate.

The attacking instrumentality is really better.

Madrid person scored 20 times - 5 much than Mourinho's archetypal squad managed astatine the aforesaid signifier - aft victories against Espanyol, Real Sociedad, Malaga, Rayo Vallecano, Elche and Inter Milan.

Defensively, the opposition is striking.

Nine goals person already been conceded, compared with conscionable 2 successful 2010.

The schedules are not identical, and Mourinho's existent broadside person already faced demanding tests against Inter and Atletico, meaning the numbers cannot beryllium treated arsenic a nonstop measurement of which Madrid squad was stronger.

They do, however, exemplify the antithetic situation facing the manager.

His broadside person struggled to support their strength aft fractional clip and person not yet recovered accordant extortion successful midfield, with Madrid's midfield equilibrium coming nether scrutiny aft the defeats to Betis and Atletico, allowing opponents opportunities to onslaught a defence that has seldom looked arsenic settled arsenic Mourinho would like.

There are issues astatine the different extremity contempt the higher extremity full too.

Vinicius Junior has yet to reproduce his champion form, portion Kylian Mbappe's value to the onslaught has contributed to questions implicit Madrid's equilibrium and their quality to make adjacent menace from some flanks.

That makes Mourinho's 2nd commencement astatine the Bernabeu hard to picture simply arsenic amended oregon worse than the first.

The triumph totals are identical and the existent onslaught has produced much goals.

What the 2010 examination exposes is the constituent Madrid person not yet rediscovered: the antiaircraft power that Mourinho established astir instantly the archetypal clip around.