Five Things We’ve Learned About Real Madrid—and One Question That Still Needs Answering

We are almost a fifth of the way into the 2026–27 La Liga season as the first international break hits. It’s been a mixed start for José Mourinho on his return to Real Madrid.

The manager has enjoyed five wins from seven and benefitted from the flying form of Kylian Mbappé, among other bright spots.

However, Real Madrid aren’t judged on their ability to blow away Málaga at home, and chastening defeats in the tougher tests away at Real Betis and Atlético Madrid have exposed old flaws.

A bumpy start might have been tolerated had Barça not obliterated all before them, with Hansi Flick’s unstoppable team zooming into the distance with a six-point lead that already looks hard for anyone to overturn.

With the honeymoon period over for Mourinho and his remodeled Real Madrid, here are five things we’ve learned from the opening stages of the season—and one lingering question.

Arda Güler Is a Superstar

In case you didn’t know, Arda Güler is very talented. The 21-year-old won Goal of the Season in La Liga and stole the show in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich during a breakout year.

However, his place in the team under new manager going into 2026–27 was unclear with Jude Bellingham the clearly preferred option at No. 10 and record signing Yan Diomande adding further competition on the right.

In the early weeks of the campaign, Güler has proven himself as important as anyone in terms of creative output.

The Türkiye international has 28 key passes this season, more than anyone else in La Liga—and one more than Lamine Yamal, despite the Barcelona superstar having played around 230 more minutes.

In a team that has occasionally lacked a killer instinct, finding space for Güler in the lineup, either on the right or centrally, appears essential.

Espí Is a Game-Changer

Carlos Espí appeared to have been signed for one of soccer’s more thankless roles this season following his €25 million ($29 million) move from Levante: backup to Mbappé.

While he will probably never be a starter, the 21-year-old is fast becoming the perfect super-sub and already has two goals in 25 minutes, resulting in four points won. It would have been more too had his spectacular late effort against Real Betis not been chalked off for offside.

The young striker’s physicality, aerial threat and poacher’s instincts offers something totally different to what Madrid have in the roster and he has already been dubbed “Joselu Junior” by his teammates—in reference to the former striker’s habit for scoring hugely important goals off the bench.

Diomande Needs Time

Not everyone has enjoyed such a lightning start to the season. The club’s new record signing Yan Diomande is still waiting for his big introductory moment.

The 19-year-old, who became Madrid’s most expensive signing at €125 million ($143 million) upon moving from RB Leipzig, is clearly a future superstar rather than a current one and is being eased into life at the world’s biggest club slowly.

Mourinho has restricted Diomande to just two starts so far, much to the frustration of some of the more impatient fans who are keen to see their new toy out of the box.

An assist against Elche showed a glimpse of the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season’s potential but it is unlikely to be the start of an uninterrupted run of starts, with Mourinho typically cautious when it comes to young gems.

In the manager’s defense, it is only a year and a half since Diomande made his professional debut in a 3–2 defeat for Leganés against Real Madrid.

The Mbappé-Vinícius Conundrum Is Still a Thing

Kylian Mbappé — Madrid rarely see the best of Mbappé and Vinícius Jr at the same time. | Fran Santiago/Getty Images

Following the derby day defeat to Atlético Madrid, L’Equipe shared a damning graphic showing the average positions of all Real Madrid players. Mbappé and Vinícius Jr were practically on top of one another.

A running issue since the French superstar’s arrival in the summer of 2024, Mourinho hasn’t found a way to get the best out of his two most potent attacking talents at the same time.

Mbappé is thriving as the spearhead of the 4-2-3-1 formation, but Vinícius is a shadow of his best self—a situation all the more unfortunate given the massive contract he’s just signed.

There is time for the knots to be worked out, but the signs are pointing to another frustrating season of sporadic co-operation and all-too-frequent toe-stepping.

Mourinho Hasn’t Changed

José Mourinho — Same old José. | Oscar DEL POZO/AFP/Getty Images

When Mourinho arrived at Madrid around 100 days ago for his second go at the biggest job in club soccer, he presented himself as an older, wiser, kinder, more mellow manager.

In his early press conferences when presented with his inflammatory old quotes about former rivals from his belligerent heyday, he would reply with a sheepish smile “Did I say that? Me?” This was to be Mourinho 2.0.

It didn’t last long. Ahead of the match against Elche, following the first defeat of the season, the 63-year-old ended a press conference “No questions about the penalties? Strange, isn’t it?” foreshadowing his imminent heel turn.

Following the defeat to Atleti, he brought actual print-outs as he railed against the officiating, even questioning why 41-year-old Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias had been allowed to be the referee.

He also called decisions in favor of both Barcelona and Atleti this season “laughable” and leaned into more conspiracy theories as he claimed Madrid can still fight for the title “If ‘they’ leave us in peace.”

“There’s a long way left,” Mourinho added. There sure is.

What Is Madrid’s Best Midfield?

Federico Valverde’s injury leaves Madrid short. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

One issue Madrid were expected to address in the summer transfer window was the lack of a deep-lying midfield controller. They didn’t.

After being snubbed by Rodri, Florentino Pérez and the hierarchy seemingly decided not to look at alternatives and stick with what the club already had.

So far, Mourinho has mixed and matched the two starters in his midfield pivot behind Bellingham, with Aurélien Tchouaméni, the most naturally defensive, still working his way back to full fitness.

Early predictions that Mourinho could convert Güler into a deep-lying playmaker seem to have been wide of the mark and still not clear which two out of Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva and Thiago Pitarch offers the best balance of control and creativity—a situation only exacerbated by Valverde’s injury in the Madrid derby.

Madrid have struggled with control at times this season, enjoying less possession than their opponents in three of the last four matches. Mourinho’s team have, tellingly, also lost the second half in four of their last five matches, drawing the other one.

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