Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho admits his team does not know how to
control matches before Sunday’s La Liga clash.
Atletico host bitter city rivals Real for the Madrid derby as both
sides look to keep up with early La Liga pacesetters Barcelona.
Madrid trail unbeaten champions Barcelona at the top of the table by
three points, with Atletico third.
Atletico have bounced back from back-to-back defeats to Bilbao and
Liverpool earlier in September, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and Osasuna 4-0 in
their last two games.
Real come into the game in decent form under boss Jose Mourinho but
have had wobbles this month, with a defeat to Betis and scoring late to beat
bottom club Elche after squandering a two-goal lead.
Improving Atletico cruise to win over Osasuna
Atletico Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 on Wednesday to build some form
in the run-up to Sunday’s derby clash against rivals Real Madrid.
Jonathan David, Lee Kang-in, Robin Le Normand and Alex Baena’s goals
helped Diego Simeone’s side cruise to a comfortable home victory.
They were without injured striker Julian Alvarez, but it did not
matter after they secured a second straight win to cut the gap on top two
Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The comfortable victory was important for an Atletico side with lots
of new faces still bedding in, after two defeats in their three matches prior.
“We controlled it in the
first half even though we weren’t clinical,” said coach Diego Simeone. “We were
clinical in the second half and controlled the game.”
Mourinho rues lack of game control
Real Madrid squandered a two-goal lead before substitute Carlos Espi
struck in stoppage time to secure a dramatic
3-2 victory at Elche in La Liga on Tuesday.
Real went 2-0 up inside 33 minutes
through a Matias Dituro own goal and Kylian Mbappe, but second-half strikes
from Abiel Osorio and Fer Nino hauled Elche level before Espi restored the visitors’
lead in the 91st minute.
It was the second time in six league
matches that the 21-year-old Espi had come off the bench to score a late
winner, although Mourinho remained concerned by Real’s failure to control the
second half in advance of Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid.
“The
problem seems obvious to me. It’s harder to know why, but it’s easy to
understand that there are matches that seem over and, in the end, aren’t,” said
Mourinho.
“[There
are] matches where we have three, four, five chances to finish them and don’t,”
he said at the pre-match news conference.
“After
failing to do so, it feels like we go from ease, because it seemed easy, to
losing control.”
Mourinho said his team’s defensive issues
were of concern.
“Not
just for Sunday’s match, but for every match. I like my team to score goals …
but I also like controlling matches,” explained Mourinho.
“I
don’t like gifting control. It’s not about the goals, it’s about giving away
control of the match.”
Prediction
The Opta supercomputer has made Real
Madrid the favourites, with a win probability of 46.6 percent. Atletico were
given a 28.3 percent chance of winning, while a draw was estimated at a 25.1
percent likelihood.
Head-to-head
The rivals have faced each other on 243
occasions; Real Madrid won 125 games, Atletico won 60, while 58 matches ended
as draws.
Last five encounters:
March 22, 2026: Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico
(La Liga)
January 8, 2026: Atletico 1-2 Real Madrid
(Spanish Super Cup semifinal)
September 27, 2025: Atletico 5-2 Real
Madrid (La Liga)
March 12, 2025: Atletico 1-0 Real Madrid
(Champions League last 16, second leg)
March 4, 2025: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico
(Champions League last 16, first leg)
What happened the last time the two clubs
played each other?
Vinicius Jr scored twice as Real Madrid
fought back to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu in a
breathless Spanish capital derby in March.
Atletico’s Ademola Lookman opened the
scoring in the 33rd minute, finishing a slick counterattack involving Matteo
Ruggeri and a delightful back-heel from Giuliano Simeone.
Vinicius equalised from the penalty spot
in the 52nd minute, after David Hancko clumsily tripped Brahim Diaz, and
Federico Valverde capitalised on a Jose Maria Gimenez error three minutes later
to make it 2-1 to Real.
Nahuel Molina silenced Real’s Bernabeu
stadium with a thunderous 30-metre strike in the 66th minute, but Vinicius
restored Real’s lead with a cracking solo effort six minutes later.
What happened in the corresponding
fixture last season?
Julian Alvarez scored twice as Atletico
Madrid came from behind to thrash city rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a pulsating
derby in September 2025.
Atletico’s aggressive start paid off when
Robin Le Normand opened the scoring with a header in the 14th minute.
However, Kylian Mbappe burst through to
level with an unstoppable strike from close range in a quick counter in the
25th minute, with Arda Guler netting a volley from a Vinicius Jr cross 11
minutes later to put the visitors in front.
Alexander Sorloth’s header in added time
before the break gave Atletico a boost, and they regained the lead five minutes
into the second half when Alvarez converted a penalty after Guler’s high boot
clipped Nico Gonzalez on the face inside the box.
After Alvarez extended their lead in the
64th minute with a sublime free kick into the top corner, substitute Antoine
Griezmann sealed the win in a quick counter in added time.
Atletico Madrid’s team news
Alvarez, Pablo Barrios, and Sorloth are
doubts, as all three are struggling with muscle issues.
Jonathan David is likely to continue up
front if Alvarez is absent or starts on the bench.
Predicted starting XI:
Oblak (goalkeeper); Llorente, Romero, Le
Normand, Grimaldo; Lee, Koke, Cardoso, Baena; David, Lookman
Real Madrid’s team news
Eder Militao, Rodrygo, and Ferland Mendy
are unavailable due to injuries, but otherwise Mourinho appears to have a full
squad to choose from.
Predicted starting XI:
Courtois (goalkeeper); Dumfries, Konate,
Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Tchouameni; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe