Rayo at the Bernabéu: win and you are back on track
Real Madrid host Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday at 21:00 CEST, LaLiga round five (2)(6)(8). You sit fourth on 9 points from four games after the 1–0 loss at Betis on Friday, September 4, when Mbappé missed a penalty (8) (9). The midweek 2–1 win over Inter in the Champions League league-phase opener calmed things down (1) (8). Now it has to carry into the league.
Mourinho did not name a team. "Estamos felizes, unidos e trabalhando bem. O Rayo Vallecano vem de uma vitória e de outros jogos que não venceu, mas demonstrou qualidade. Temos que estar muito concentrados. Não vou dizer quem jogar ou não. Temos que ganhar e ir fortes" (1).
Elche away on Tuesday, then Atlético away on Sunday, September 20.
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Mourinho goes all in on Vinícius Júnior
Part of the Bernabéu whistled Vinícius Júnior during the Inter game, and it did not stay quiet (1). A senior player went straight to Mourinho afterwards: "Mister, jeg er bekymret for Vini. Med alt det, han har gjort for Madrid gennem årene, er det ikke normalt, som en del af fansene har behandlet ham. Vi er nødt til at få ham til at blive glad igen" (1).
Mourinho's answer in his pre-match press conference was blunt. "Right now we have a Vinícius Júnior who is working harder than ever" (10). He also said Vinícius is not yet at his sharpest: "Han har arbejdet meget. Det ved vi alle. Han er ikke i form endnu. Det er ikke den Vinícius, der har sit en-mod-en-spil og slår modstanderen ihjel, men han arbejder meget. Og hvis han giver alt, hvad han har, fortjener han respekt" (1).
And then the line he will repeat all season: "You only throw stones at trees that have fruit; you don't throw stones at a tree that has nothing on it. And Vinícius Júnior has a lot of fruit" (10).
Saturday is Vinícius' chance to make the Bernabéu forget the whistles.
Mbappé on the "dictator" memes
Kylian Mbappé has spoken about the AI memes that cast him as a dictator. He sees the funny side of some of them. Not all of them. "Der er en del, som er sjov, fordi man kan mærke, at det for nogle mennesker er harmløst. Men der er også en del, der er mindre sjov, fordi vi kender den skade, som den slags mennesker har forårsaget gennem historien" (4).
Mastantuono beats a Messi record
Franco Mastantuono scored a hat trick for Fiorentina and became the youngest Argentine to score three in a game in Europe's top five leagues, passing Lionel Messi (5). The winger is on loan from Real Madrid.
Real Madrid Femenino top of the league
Real Madrid Femenino beat Deportivo da Coruña 2–0 on September 9 and sit top of the Primera División Femenina with 7 points from three games (3). Bella Andersson scored her first goal for the club (3). Felicia Schröder was suspended for the match (3).
Álvarez to Barcelona: Salinas says good
Real Madrid were among the clubs reported to be interested in Julián Álvarez, who pushed for a move from Atlético Madrid to Barcelona this summer (12). Former Barcelona striker Julio Salinas is glad it did not happen the other way either. "Jag är glad att han inte kommer nu, och jag hoppas att han inte kommer i januari heller. För mig skulle det vara ett misstag" (12).
