Real Madrid celebrations masked by Mourinho’s familiar underdog narrative after El Clasico win

Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou has lifted the mood around the club, but the celebrations have been accompanied by a familiar Jose Mourinho theme: portraying his team as the underdog.

Real Madrid supporters gathered in Madrid on Monday morning in a buoyant mood after the El Clasico victory. Some were even congratulated by Atletico Madrid fans, who now believe their side can move above Barcelona in La Liga, with only two points separating the teams.

According to Catalan newspaper Sport, Mourinho’s side’s success against Hansi Flick’s team removed the “victim” mantle Real Madrid, led by Florentino Perez, had adopted before the game.

Mourinho has frequently used that narrative to sharpen his teams’ competitive spirit. He employed it during his first spell at Real Madrid and returned to the approach in the build-up to his first Clasico since coming back to the club.

Barcelona have now suffered successive defeats, increasing doubts around Flick’s side, while Real Madrid head into the final stage of the year believing they have rediscovered their direction.

The approach has precedent. Frank Lampard, discussing Chelsea under Mourinho in comments reported by the Irish Independent in 2019, said: “He made us believe that everyone wanted us to fail.”

That belief helped unite Chelsea behind their manager and contributed to the development of one of the most competitive teams in Premier League history.

A similar atmosphere developed at Real Madrid before the visit to Camp Nou. On 12 October, Tomas Roncero told Cadena SER: “Any referee knows that if he favours Real Madrid, he will have a problem.”

Mourinho maintained that sense of grievance even after the victory, claiming VAR had been absent during the incident involving Joao Cancelo and Diomande. The Portuguese coach called for a player to be sent off, but the Video Assistant Referee Archive platform and former referee Iturralde Gonzalez rejected that interpretation, judging the challenge worthy of a yellow card.

Confidence changed the game

Fear of defeat was also present at Valdebebas before the match, with some figures close to Real Madrid preparing for a loss despite confidence coming from inside the dressing room.

Mourinho instead created an atmosphere of belief. That unity was reflected on the pitch, where players covered for one another whenever a mistake was made.

Roncero admitted he had argued with supporters who expected Barcelona to win heavily. Their concerns had been increased by the absence of Thibaut Courtois, despite Real Madrid having won three of the previous four Clasicos started by Andriy Lunin.

Those predictions of a Barcelona rout gave Real Madrid’s players extra motivation. Mourinho also handled reports that Eduardo Camavinga would start effectively, with the France player becoming a decisive substitute who helped create the second goal, scored by Kylian Mbappe.

The squad’s collective celebration of that goal showed the impact of the psychological preparation.

Mourinho had used a similar tactic with Inter Milan in 2010. Even after a 3-1 win over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, he warned that Inter could lose the return match at Camp Nou by a wide margin.

After Sunday’s result, Real Madrid supporters moved from deep pessimism to euphoria. Edu Aguirre said on El Chiringuito: “It was a match that could have ended 4-1 or 5-1. We have a better coach, and everything is in place for us to win the league.”

Roncero added: “It was a match in which we could have scored four or five goals against Barcelona.”

Real Madrid’s official television channel celebrated the performance while continuing to complain about refereeing, describing it as: “A display from Real Madrid, but VAR on demand.”

The result has changed the priorities at Real Madrid and given Mourinho’s team a period of optimism. Barcelona face Deportivo Alaves in La Liga on 31 October 2026, while Racing Santander play Real Madrid in La Liga on 01 November 2026.

Mourinho, however, stressed that the victory’s importance would depend on Real Madrid maintaining positive results and building on their El Clasico performance.