Mourinho brandishes printout after Atlético beat Real Madrid 2-1 at Metropolitano
José Mourinho presented a printed sheet to the press after Real Madrid's 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano on Sunday, a La Liga derby watched by 70,514 spectators. He used the document to challenge refereeing decisions from the match and accused officials of overlooking two incidents he said warranted red cards.
Thirteen years after their previous derby meeting, Mourinho faced Diego Simeone in a familiar confrontation but at a new stadium; he arrived at the press room holding a piece of paper and laid out two screen grabs printed on the reverse of an Atlético information sheet. “We can save ourselves the bother of the press conference,” he said, “because the story is right here.” The screenshots depicted Cuti Romero’s studs on Jude Bellingham’s knee and Kang-in Lee on Fede Valverde’s ankle, incidents Mourinho insisted should have produced red cards.
Mourinho argued the early match incidents altered the balance of the game, saying it “should have been nine against 11” after those fouls, and pointing to the sending-off of Dean Huijsen early in the second half for dragging down Giuliano Simeone which led to Atlético’s penalty. He criticised the referee and VAR team, claiming the match official could not handle the pressure “like the 1980s”, revived his familiar “por qué” line and singled out decisions from VAR official Daniel Trujillo Suárez that, he said, “make you laugh”. He also congratulated the referees’ committee while warning he would fight for the title despite being six points behind already – if they let us.
On the pitch, Atlético controlled large parts of the match, taking more than twice as many shots and recording roughly two-thirds of the possession. Real’s first shot on target arrived only on 39 minutes and came from 25 yards; after the red card to Huijsen, Madrid struggled to create sustained chances and their response was limited, particularly following the substitution of Guler. Madrid’s goal in the 89th minute was described in the post-match coverage as an isolated moment amid continued opportunities for Atlético.
Giuliano Simeone, now 23, played a decisive role for Atlético: he forced the penalty that produced the opening goal and later set up the second. The article recalled that when the two managers last met in a derby Giuliano was 10 and watched from home; on Sunday his contribution drew his father sprinting along the touchline in celebration. “We give him the ball, he scores the goals,” Fermín López said.
The report placed the derby result alongside a sequence of La Liga scores from the weekend: Espanyol 1-3 Elche, Sevilla 1-3 Barcelona, Celta Vigo 5-0 Real Santander, Athletic Bilbao 0-0 Alavés, Osasuna 1-1 Rayo Vallecano, Valencia 2-3 Real Sociedad, Villarreal 3-1 Levante, Deportivo A Coruña 1-1 Real Betis, Atlético 2-1 Real Madrid, Getafe 1-0 Málaga. It also highlighted Barcelona striker Raphinha’s season form: “Raphinha, who is filling in at centre forward, has now scored 12 league goals in just seven games, plus two more in the Champions League. He is five ahead of anyone else already.” His hat-trick on Saturday helped Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Sevilla as coach Luis García described them as “stratospheric”.
Other weekend notes included Alavés goalkeeper Antonio Sivera’s reaction to a clean sheet: “At last, at last!” he said, calling his previous record “ridiculous”. Ante Budimir marked his 100th goal in Spain with a chest-and-volley strike and reflected on his career path: “When I played football as a kid in Croatia, everyone wants to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues and on my list Spain was bottom, but in the end it seems like Osasuna and La Liga is my place: God’s path is different to mine,” he said.
Mourinho left the press conference with his printed evidence on the table and reiterated his intention to contest the title race amid the refereeing controversy; it remains only seven weeks into the season and, as reported, Real Madrid’s rebuilding process has only just begun while they sit six points off the top.