Real Madrid must respond: Mourinho calls for improvement vs Villarreal

Real Madrid host Villarreal with the pressure of a must-win to avoid falling further behind, after a Metropolitano defeat that’s already three weeks old and still under the shadow of the Elche “shirt” incident involving Mbappé, Vinícius and Konaté.

As MARCA notes, the team sits six points behind Barça and the match arrives while the international break has left unrest around Kylian, Valverde and Huijsen.

Three weeks on

Jose Mourinho addressed the squad’s issues on Saturday. He defended Mbappé and blamed the controversy on what he described as a media campaign, but also admitted that things need to change. After the derby—when he focused more on refereeing matters—he said he has been working on corrections at Valdebebas specifically with Villarreal in mind.