Real Madrid's 'Obvious' Problem—And How They Can Fix It

“The good thing is that nobody gets bored in Real Madrid games,” José Mourinho said after his team’s win over Elche on Tuesday. “They’re really fun.”

He’s not wrong. What should’ve been a run-of-the-mill win for Los Blancos against a side close to the foot of the La Liga table, turned into an edge-of-your-seat thriller in the second half at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, as the visitors to gave up a 2–0 lead with less than ten minutes to go.

Arda Güler’s stunning free kick, deflected into his own net by Matías Dituro, gave Madrid a first-half advantage, which was soon doubled after Kylian Mbappé tapped in from Yan Diomande’s cross.

It should have been game over by the break.

Instead, the hosts fought back. Abiel Osorio rose highest to head into the net on 71 minutes, while Fer Niño leveled the score not long after with a fine pivot and shot across Thibaut Courtois. Mourinho’s galácticos had been stunned by a team who had appeared unable to compete at halftime.

Substitute Carlos Espí dug Real Madrid out of an embarrassing hole, tapping in a stoppage-time equalizer to ensure all three points went back to the capital ahead of the Madrid derby this weekend.

Mourinho Identifies ‘Obvious’ Problem

José Mourinho — Mourinho wants his team to be more clinical. | M Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images

It is the second time this season already that summer signing Espí has played super sub, with the 21-year-old also coming off the bench to score a late winner in the first gameweek against Espanyol.

Speaking after the dramatic finish, Mourinho said the problem was “obvious” before suggesting his side lack a killer instinct to put matches beyond doubt.

“In games that seem like they’re done, we have three, four, five chances to kill it, and we don’t,” the manager told reporters. “We didn’t score, we didn’t finish it with the 3 or 4-0. When it seems easy, you leave things like that, away from home at these stadiums.

“They get a goal and it’s an open game. The good thing is that in difficulty, the team reacts and wins.”

Familiar Issues This Season

It’s still a small sample size, but Real Madrid not killing off games is becoming something a pattern in 2026–27, with Elche the most obvious example yet.

After the dramatic opening-night victory over Espanyol, Los Blancos experienced comfortable wins over Real Sociedad and Málaga, before falling to a shock defeat at Real Betis—despite racking up a massive 3.46 xG.

Los Blancos’ Champions League opener against Inter Milan was also an anxious affair, with Madrid taking a 2–0 first-half lead, only to let the Italian champions back into the match after the break. Though the match ended with a 2–1 victory, the manner of the display prompted boos and whistles from the crowd at the Bernabéu.

There was also some unrest in the stands during the second half of the 4–1 win over Rayo Vallecano, as an apparent drop in performance levels led to the visitors getting a foothold in the game, before Mbappé’s late strike put the result beyond doubt.

Game Management Key for Madrid

Aurélien Tchouaméni — Mourinho is still working out his best team. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

While the Betis defeat was a rare off-night for Mbappé, Mourinho could hardly ask for a better finisher than the Frenchman, who has started the season with seven goals in six games.

Creating chances is also clearly not an issue for Madrid. No team in La Liga has a higher xG this season (17.73). Nor has any team hit the post as many times as Madrid in 2026–27 (9).

The numbers suggest that even if Madrid could’ve been more clinical in some moments, any failures in front of goal are as much to do with luck as to with any serious underlying fault in attack.

Really, the issue with Madrid’s performances this season has been in game management. None of the wins over Espanyol, Inter nor Elche needed to be nail-biting, and could’ve been seen out more comfortably with better game control.

Given their resources and status, Los Blancos are expected to truly dominate the majority of the games they play, but that is not quite happening yet under Mourinho.

Madrid rank only third for possession in La Liga (averaging 54.6%), some way behind Barcelona (68.5%) and Villarreal (61%). In the win over Elche, Madrid had just 44% possession, while they could only claim 36% of the ball against Inter.

Mourinho has rotated his defenders and midfielders so far this season and there is still a need for the players to gel and get comfortable in their roles. Teething problems are to be expected. However, the lack of a tempo-setting, deep-lying midfielder for the third season running continues to be the elephant in the room, with Mourinho still working out his best combination in the engine room.

The heated atmosphere of the Madrid derby offers the next opportunity—if not the ideal environment—for the team to work on reducing in-game nerves.

To paraphrase Mourinho, it’s unlikely to be boring.

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