Real Madrid’s El Clasico win reveals Mourinho’s striking tactical U-turn

Real Madrid’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona was more than a crucial three points. It signalled the emergence of a different side under Jose Mourinho and reignited the La Liga title race, with the gap at the top reduced to three points.

Barcelona had appeared almost untouchable after a run of nine successive victories, but Real Madrid overturned that momentum at their rivals’ home ground on Sunday. Kylian Mbappe scored both goals, again demonstrating why he remains the greatest threat to the Barcelona defence.

Real Madrid also took advantage of the absences of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. Despite the victory, they remain third in the table, behind Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid.

The result was widely discussed on the programme Carousel Deportivo, where analysts argued that Mbappe’s performance was only part of the explanation. Their main focus was Mourinho’s tactical approach, which they believed completely outmanoeuvred Hansi Flick, whose side appeared to have no alternative plan.

Analyst Julio Pulido described the victory as a significant personal achievement for Mourinho.

“I think it is a major success for Mourinho because he managed to change his initial plan to suit the team’s actual needs,” he said.

Pulido said the manager had moved away from the structure he had used until the previous week.

“If we look at Mourinho’s plan up to last week, Tchouameni and Valverde were confined to central midfield, Bernardo Silva was on the bench after disappearing completely, and Diomande was also left out because he insisted on playing Vinicius,” he said.

“He had never considered using Valverde on the right wing. That was the major change.”

Sevilla provided the turning point

Pulido believes the decisive moment came before the Clasico, in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Sevilla one week earlier.

That match, he said, convinced Mourinho that he could construct a different kind of team.

“The Sevilla match was the turning point. Things changed from that game,” Pulido said.

“He boldly selected Valverde and left Vinicius on the bench, while moving Guler into a position closer to the centre of the pitch. His performance improved incredibly. That is Mourinho’s real success.”

The transformation of Real Madrid was also highlighted by analyst Miguel Martin Talavera, who said the current side looked entirely different from the team that began the season.

Although they remain third, Talavera said the improvement had been expected. He also suggested that Barcelona’s sudden decline was the most significant development of the weekend.

“Putting Mourinho’s success and Real Madrid’s impressive performance to one side, I think the biggest news is that Barcelona, who had looked unbeatable, brilliant and record-breaking, lost two matches in three days and returned to reality,” he said.

“They have shown that this requires hard work, and nobody has ever won anything in October. I now see Barcelona surrounded by doubts, especially after their defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.”