Mourinho faces historic Real Madrid challenge after slow La Liga start

Jose Mourinho faces an unprecedented challenge in his managerial career at Real Madrid after the club collected only 15 points from their opening seven La Liga matches.

The total came after a 2-1 defeat by Atletico de Madrid in the Madrid derby, a result that left Real Madrid six points behind leaders Barcelona before the first international break of the season. Barcelona have taken maximum points from their matches so far.

Mourinho has never won a league title in any of his previous managerial experiences after collecting fewer than 16 points in the first seven games of a campaign.

The Portuguese manager began his previous spells with Porto by taking 17 and 19 points respectively. His starts with Chelsea produced 17 and 21 points, before he recorded 19 points in his second season with the English club.

Mourinho also collected 17 and 16 points in his opening campaigns with Inter Milan. During his season with Real Madrid in 2011-2012, he had 16 points after seven matches.

Those figures mean Real Madrid’s current return of 15 points represents a situation Mourinho has not previously overcome to win the league title by the end of the season.

The club’s own history offers a more encouraging perspective. Real Madrid have won nine La Liga titles since the start of the current century, and in only four of those title-winning seasons did they fail to exceed 15 points after the opening seven rounds.

As a result, Real Madrid’s points tally is not historically unprecedented for the club in a title race. However, the six-point gap to Barcelona has made the situation more difficult, particularly with the Catalan side yet to drop a point.

Mourinho’s task is further complicated by Barcelona’s perfect start and Real Madrid’s inconsistent results during the opening rounds. The contrast has increased Barcelona’s prospects of winning the title while reducing Real Madrid’s margin for error.

The international break is expected to give Mourinho almost three weeks to address the problems that have emerged within his squad, reorganise his team and find solutions capable of improving performances and restoring balance before La Liga resumes.

Real Madrid’s next match will be against Villarreal at Santiago Bernabeu. The fixture will provide an important opportunity to return to winning ways, reduce the deficit to Barcelona and rebuild confidence before the approach of El Clasico.