Belief grows that Real can challenge Barca’s dominance in Spanish soccer league

Real Madrid recorded just its second victory in eight games against Barcelona on Sunday night, with the return of José Mourinho to the fixture haunting the reigning champions.

In the first Clasico of Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid, Barcelona ripped his side to shreds in a 5-0 win at Camp Nou. A 2-1 win in the first Clasico of his second spell suggests Mourinho’s Real Madrid can challenge Barcelona’s recent LaLiga dominance in his first season back in Spain.

Though the chances were shared out evenly, with Barcelona racking up more shots on goal, more possession and more passes throughout the match, those statistics were not an honest reflection of the game. Real Madrid played as if they had the answers to the test posed by Barcelona.

“The lads played an extraordinary match,” Mourinho said in his press conference afterwards.

“Very organised, focused, and showing the courage to play the ball out from the back against an opponent that applied a lot of pressure.”

Time and again, Mourinho’s side moved the ball with urgency and precision in their own half to escape Barcelona’s pressing.

Fede Valverde was praised by Mourinho for playing through injury, but above all he embodied the presence of mind to identify where the space was whenever the ball was turned over.

The Uruguayan did so from the right-back position, despite stating in September 2025 that he was “not born to play as a fullback”.

Valverde later denied he had expressed any unwillingness to play in defence, but a number of Spanish outlets took this as a suggestion he was not pleased about doing so, and perhaps he was not on board with then manager Xabi Alonso’s style of management.

For a third game in a row, the Real Madrid skipper started at right-back and delivered a captain’s performance. Valverde’s impressive showing in his unfavoured position demonstrated that Mourinho is not only finding tactical solutions to get the best out of his players, but is winning over the Real Madrid dressing room.

Mourinho remarked that leaving Camp Nou just three points behind Barcelona “gives us peace of mind, and it’s well deserved”.

The victory over Barcelona should help to boost morale and build unity in the Real Madrid squad. More importantly, Mourinho now has evidence his methods can help return Real Madrid to the summit of Spanish football.

“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn’t playing to win at the Camp Nou,” Mourinho said.

“They’re playing to win the championship” — a statement that now looks closer to reality than when two defeats in September sowed early doubts about Mourinho’s plans.