The 90 minutes at the Bernabéu is a very long time catchphrase is supposed to be a weapon fashioned against visiting teams, but Real Madrid players and their fans have appeared to have turned it the other way round owing to recent events.
The club’s two greatest strengths, the fans and the attacking talents, have been working against their progress in recent weeks, making it difficult for their progress early in a season where they seek to challenge Barcelona’s LaLiga dominance.
Los Blancos have already fallen three points behind their Clasico rivals after four games, while Hansi Flick and his team look well into their strides, scoring 17 goals in those four games, with their best players already hitting scary numbers.
The contrast is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: while Barcelona are turning their attacking opportunities into goals and building momentum, Madrid are allowing missed chances and growing frustration to create unnecessary pressure.
Jose Mourinho’s arrival in the summer brought an aura of togetherness in the Madrid team, but in the face of pressure, their resolve has not been convincing, which makes it more difficult to measure up to what Barcelona currently have: stability.
That makes Portuguese’s task particularly difficult. He is not only expected to get the best from an attack filled with elite talent, but also to keep the dressing room and the Bernabéu pulling in the same direction. If that unity disappears, even the quality in the squad can become less effective.
Nevertheless, it does not get any easier for a club whose greatest strengths have been working against it, and Jose Mourinho could be faced with more than he can manage, especially if these things are not solved sooner rather than later.
How Real Madrid’s strengths have become weaknesses
1. Attackers can’t stop misfiring
Real Madrid’s biggest strength on the pitch is their attackers. They even had three members of their regular four attackers shortlisted in the 2026 Ballon d’Or, while their leader is one of the frontrunners to pick up the prize.
However, the last two games have seen the team struggle in front of goal, not because of a lack of chances but the inability to put them away.
In the 1-0 loss to Real Betis on Friday night, Los Blancos missed all seven big chances created, including a late penalty missed by Kylian Mbappé, who was responsible for more than half of the missed opportunities that left the team without a win away to Betis since 2021.
A few days later in the Champions League, they managed to edge Inter at the Santiago Bernabéu, taking advantage of two errors by the visitors’ defence to establish a two-goal lead through Mbappé and Federico Valverde before conceding a late goal.
Between their goals and Inter’s late consolation, Real Madrid had a lot of chances to put the game to bed but couldn’t convert them, missing a total of seven big chances and taking it to 14 in two games.
For a team carrying so much attacking quality, the problem is not creating opportunities but making those opportunities count. The more Madrid fail to punish opponents when they are on top, the more vulnerable they become to a single mistake at the other end.
The night might have ended with a positive result, but Jose Mourinho will know that the current situation is a dilemma that has to be solved before his team lose sight of Barcelona in the LaLiga title race.
2. Real Madrid boo boys
Not for the first time since his arrival at the club, but Real Madrid fans appeared to have turned booing Vinícius Junior into a culture, and they now do it in almost every home game.
Kylian Mbappé was also added to the list during the win over Inter in Madrid on Tuesday night, adding more to the mounting pressure around the club very early into the new season.
How does a hostile fanbase help get the best out of their own player?
The same player who has been at the heart of everything good in the club’s recent history and, a few weeks ago, turned down a lucrative offer from Arsenal to continue his adventure at the club?
There is understandable frustration when a player fails to meet the standards expected at Real Madrid, but the bigger question is whether persistent hostility can actually improve his performances. Booing may reflect the supporters’ dissatisfaction, but it can also add another layer of pressure to a player already expected to deliver at the highest level.
It doesn’t help the player, the manager, or the fans themselves, but they continue to be persistent in it, ultimately affecting their chances of reaching greater heights with the new-looking squad under Jose Mourinho.
Look around Europe, Real Madrid are not the best-assembled squad, but they have arguably the best set of attackers, and if the fans choose to be hostile to one of their best, how do they manage to edge their rivals in a season of margins?
Madrid therefore have two immediate problems to address: their forwards must become more ruthless, while the relationship between the team and the Bernabéu needs to recover before frustration becomes a permanent feature of their season.
Conclusion
The season is early, and the atmosphere around Real Madrid is already under a serious threat, one that may play well into the plans of their rivals, Barcelona, who are already in a better place to retain the league title.
Real Madrid have a lot of ground to cover, and the wastefulness of the players coupled with their frustrated fanbase will not in any way help their cause.
For Mourinho and his players, the answer may not require a major change in personnel, but a change in mentality. The quality is already there, but Real Madrid must rediscover the ruthlessness in front of goal and the unity in the stands that have traditionally made the Bernabéu one of the most difficult places to visit.
If their greatest strengths continue to turn into weaknesses, the pressure will only grow, and Barcelona may be more than happy to take advantage.
