When Atletico Madrid welcome Real Madrid to Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone will renew a rivalry not seen for more than a decade. The two managers have not faced each other since 2014, when Mourinho was manager of Chelsea and Atleti knocked the English side out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge. But this will not be their first Madrid derby as rival managers.
That came two years before the Champions League encounter, when Simeone's Atletico welcomed Mourinho to their former home, the Vicente Calderon Stadium, during the Portuguese's first reign as Real boss - he left with a 4-1 win that day. "This is a derby," Mourinho said. "Derbies are always something more special because of the history, the culture of the games and the passion of the fans." But, ever the pragmatist, he added: "But obviously three points is most important thing." Mourinho has three wins and a draw in their six previous meetings, while Atleti's 2013 Copa del Rey triumph ended a 14-year wait for a derby victory.
Real Madrid go into the match second in La Liga with 15 points from six games, with Real Betis on the same number of points and Atletico fourth on 13. Leading the table are Barcelona on 21 points, meaning defeat for Mourinho's men would leave them six points behind after the first seven matches. Atleti have themselves responded to consecutive defeats by Athletic Club and Liverpool with back-to-back victories, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 and then Osasuna 4-0.
Real Madrid also come into the derby on the back of a success, edging past Elche 3-2. Mourinho has spent much of the build-up resisting comparisons with Atleti and Barcelona, despite the contrasting narratives surrounding the clubs. Hansi Flick's Barca side have made a perfect start with eight wins in all competitions - seven in the league - while Real have had to produce defining moments in several matches.
Their last league outing against Elche reflected this. Real led 2-0 before being brought back to 2-2, only for substitute Carlos Espi to score a 91st-minute winner. "It's not normal to be winning 2-0 then the other team is able to equalise," Mourinho said, while pointing to the character shown by his players in finding late winners.
"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." That ability to manage matches is one of the main questions surrounding Real as Mourinho acknowledged they have not yet reached the level of control he wants, despite positive results. "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," he added.
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