Jose Mourinho watches Real Madrid Castilla from the stands at the Di Stefano

Jose Mourinho made an unexpected appearance at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano just hours after Real Madrid’s defeat by Real Betis, attending Real Madrid Castilla’s meeting with Juventud de Torremolinos to assess the club’s developing players.

The Real Madrid manager watched the reserve side from the stadium’s private box as Castilla played their first home match there. According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Mourinho followed the performance of the young players closely, choosing not to miss the opportunity to see them in competitive action.

Real Madrid had lost to Real Betis the previous day, and the first-team squad were given the day off before returning to training at 10:30 on the following morning. Mourinho instead used the break to attend Castilla’s match, which kicked off at noon.

The game featured several academy players who had been trusted by Mourinho during the first team’s pre-season preparations. Those youngsters have continued to train in the senior squad’s environment and remain part of the manager’s wider assessment of the club’s emerging talent.

Four academy players were included in Real Madrid’s most recent squad against Real Betis: Javi Navarro, Jorge Cestero, Mario Rivas and Sergio Martinez.

Cestero and Rivas both started for Castilla, while one of the midfielders opened the scoring with an impressive effort from outside the penalty area. The goal provided an early highlight as Mourinho observed the players who have been involved with the first team during the build-up to the campaign.

The manager also paid particular attention to Nasi, a defender who joined Real Madrid Castilla this season. Dani Yanez, Juan Martinez and Mistre were among the other young players monitored by Mourinho during the match.

Their presence underlined the close link between Castilla and the senior squad, with a number of academy prospects already being given opportunities to train alongside Real Madrid’s first-team players. Mourinho’s visit allowed him to watch them in a match setting while the senior squad’s scheduled programme was paused for a day.

The appearance came shortly after Real Madrid’s loss to Real Betis, but the focus of Mourinho’s afternoon was the development of the club’s reserve team and the players competing for a future role at first-team level.