Jose Mourinho’s Bullish Team Decisions Are Costing Real Madrid

“The first half was the coach’s fault; the second half was the players’ fault,” José Mourinho told reporters after Real Madrid’s exhilarating 4–3 win over Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday, spreading the blame for the shortcomings that left his team needing to overturn a two-goal deficit inside ten minutes.

Mourinho was welcomed as a returning to hero to the Stadio Olimpico and left as a victor. And yet, the result raised questions about whether “the Special One” still knows how to set up a team for success.

Madrid found themselves outclassed in the opening half against Roma and were fortunate to go in 1–1 at the break. Operating between the lines, attacking midfielder Matías Soulé was left free far too often, while Wesley regularly strode forward from right wingback unmarked.

Mourinho swapped over his wingers, Vinícius Jr and Yan Diomande, at halftime but the problems persisted and Los Blancos—through a combination of defensive lapses and a lack of intensity—found themselves 3–1 down by the hour mark.

The decision to hook off Vinícius Jr and Denzel Dumfries for Endrick and Arda Güler swung the momentum back in Madrid’s favor, while Roma retreated and retreated until the comeback felt unstoppable.

The final eight minutes of the 90 will be consigned to history as one of the great Champions League comebacks—statistically the fastest turnaround of a two-goal deficit—and turned a major embarrassment into a moment of triumph for Madrid.

In the end, Mourinho’s subs dug Madrid out of a hole in Rome, but the manager’s lineup choices put them there in the first place.

Mourinho Gets it Wrong in Rome

The Vinicius Jr Problem

Mourinho went to Italy set up to counter, with both Vinícius Jr and Diomande on the wings, instead of Arda Güler—who has been, by some distance, Madrid’s most creative player this season.

Vinícius, amid a foul run of form, regularly failed to track back against the threat of fellow Brazilian Wesley, leaving Marc Cucurella exposed and was anonymous again in attack. No player other than Manu Koné—who played only 17 minutes—had fewer than the No. 7’s 22 touches all game.

The 26-year-old is becoming a serious headache for Mourinho; one that he doesn’t seem to quite know how to deal with. Mourinho has handled Vinícius Jr with kid gloves so far, but hasn’t been able to get a tune out of the misfiring superstar.

With each passing game, it gets harder and harder to justify why he is still in the lineup beyond the fact he is a huge name who has just signed a huge contract extension.

Midfield Weak Link

Meanwhile, in midfield Mourinho persists with a double pivot of Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni—a duo that has struggled to provide the kind of game control Madrid have badly needed since Toni Kroos’s exit in 2024.

Both players are willing runners and effective at what they do, but together they lack the balance and nous to dominate the engine-room battle in the bigger games.

Neither was able to impose themselves on Wednesday and—though it is not Mourinho’s fault—the failure to land Rodri this summer remains the elephant in the room.

The one midfielder who did arrive from Manchester City, Bernardo Silva, has been little more than a relief option, while Mourinho hasn’t felt inspired to try other, more creative combinations such as Güler in a deeper role.

Disappointing Dumfries

Donyell Malen and Denzel Dumfries — Mourinho has persisted with Dumfries this season. | Danilo Gemito/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images

In defense, Denzel Dumfries has seemingly become the manager’s preferred right back option, starting seven of 10 matches so far this season. However, it is yet to become clear what the Netherlands international offers going forward or backward, while Trent Alexander-Arnold—a genuine creative outlet—languishes on the bench.

Güler’s introduction for Dumfries helped change the game, with the Türkiye star grabbing two assists. Meanwhile, Endrick—a player starved of minutes all season—made Madrid fans question why he has been left unopened in the box for so long, after his own decisive cameo.

The positive takeaway is that the bench is deep at Madrid. The negative is that Mourinho doesn’t seem to have the measure of his best starting XI.

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