Mourinho and Simeone renew Madrid derby rivalry at Metropolitano on Sunday

Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone will renew a rivalry not seen for more than a decade when Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday.

The pair last met in a Madrid derby in the 2013 Copa del Rey final, a match Atletico won 2-1 after extra time, and have not faced each other since 2014 when Simeone's side eliminated Mourinho's Chelsea from the Champions League at Stamford Bridge. Their first encounter in a Madrid derby as opposing managers occurred at the Vicente Calderon Stadium two years before that Champions League meeting, when Mourinho's Real won 4-1.

Mourinho stressed the special nature of the fixture in his pre-match remarks, saying: "This is a derby. Derbies are always something more special because of the history, the culture of the games and the passion of the fans." He added a pragmatic note: "But obviously three points is most important thing." Across six meetings between the two men, Mourinho has three wins and a draw.

The La Liga table shows Real Madrid second with 15 points from six games, level on points with Real Betis, while Atletico sit fourth with 13 points and Barcelona top on 21. Atletico arrived at the derby after consecutive wins — 3-0 over Real Sociedad and 4-0 at Osasuna — having recovered from back-to-back defeats by Athletic Club and Liverpool.

Real reached the fixture on the back of a 3-2 victory against Elche in which Carlos Espi scored a 91st-minute winner after Real had been pegged back from 2-0 to 2-2. Mourinho referenced that match when he said: "It's not normal to be winning 2-0 then the other team is able to equalise," and added: "The league is a marathon and it's not always a straight line. There will be obstacles, but we will be there to overcome them." He also reflected on the squad's development: "I am aware of the fact we can improve, we have to improve, but I also see a lot of very positive collective and individual things and in the three games where we needed last-minute winners, we found them."

Simeone focused on Real's counter-attacking threat, saying: "They're better in transition than us." He elaborated: "When there's a loss of possession, they look for [Kylian] Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, they play to that strength. We have to read the game well and not allow any turnovers, so we don't allow them to use those transitions." Simeone, who has managed Atletico in over 800 games since taking charge in 2011, described his squad as still "in construction" after a summer in which seven players left and five arrived.

On selection matters Simeone confirmed Julian Alvarez, who had missed the past two games with a muscle problem, would feature at some point, while Alexander Sorloth remains injured and new signing Jonathan David has scored in each of his last two appearances. Addressing the occasion, Simeone said: "I'm not one for giving advice," and added: "Football is about composure."

The managers exchanged mutual respect in public comments ahead of the derby; Simeone said: "I have huge respect for Mourinho, I've been an admirer of his for a long time. He knows the regard I have for him. Hopefully we can compete as we have done when we've faced him." Mourinho, 100 days into his current spell in charge, said of his own start: "All I can say is that I've given it my all," adding, "I gave 100%. We have to keep on doing that every day."

The fixture at the Metropolitano on Sunday carries immediate implications for the title race: a defeat for Real would leave them six points behind Barcelona after the first seven matches of the La Liga season.