Elche away, and Real Madrid need an away win
Real Madrid are at Elche on Tuesday, 21:30 CEST, in round six of LaLiga (5)(2). You are second on 12 points from five games, chasing Barcelona (3). The away form is the problem: Real Betis beat you 1–0 on September 4, your only league loss this season (12). Elche have lost both home games they have played this season (2). The Martínez Valero is the venue (2).
Militão, Mendy and Rodrygo are out
Éder Militão, Mendy and Rodrygo all miss the trip to Elche (5). Militão and Mendy are defensive absences, which matters before Sunday's derby at Atlético Madrid (5). That one kicks off at 16:15 CEST on September 20 (5).
Mourinho is not promising magic
José Mourinho was straight about the timeline at his press conference. "I like to win, I would like to play well and win, nothing more. I hope that in three months we are better than today, but I have nothing magic to say that in three months we will be at an incredible level" (5). He also does not want to lose ground on Barcelona, which is the whole point of this midweek round (3).
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Mbappé has six league goals
Kylian Mbappé has six LaLiga goals this season (11). You are coming off a 4–1 home win over Rayo Vallecano on September 12, following the 2–1 Champions League win over Internazionale on September 8 (5).
Rodrygo is bulking up while he recovers
Rodrygo is five months into recovery from an ACL injury and is building muscle in Valdebebas. He trains with his family, his personal trainer and the club's physiotherapist, with the goal of coming back stronger and more muscular, and a December return for the Copa del Rey is on the table (1). Tomás Roncero's take: "He runs in Valdebebas, works with his family, with his personal trainer and with the Real Madrid physiotherapist. The goal is to come back stronger, more muscular and more prepared. A crack" (1).
Liverpool join the race for Paul Wanner
Liverpool are now in on PSV midfielder Paul Wanner, alongside Bayern Munich and Real Madrid (6) (8). The reported fee is £43m (6).
Rodri explains why he said no
Rodri turned Real Madrid down in the summer and chose Barcelona instead, and he has now explained it. "It was not easy to say 'no' to Real Madrid, especially because they treated me very nicely. I had to consider many things and make a very important decision between the two best clubs in the world" (7) (9) (10).
Fan reactions
The talk on r/realmadrid is what Mourinho does with a squad where Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham cannot be left out, and Vinicius Junior looks like a third name in the same category. The question fans keep coming back to is how the rest of the team fits around them.
