Real Madrid sit six points off the top of La Liga, are down to one fit senior centre-back, and have already lost twice under their new coach. One of their own, speaking from Spain’s international camp on Friday, is not joining in with the panic.
Marc Cucurella, Real Madrid’s summer signing from Chelsea, pushed back on the mounting criticism of José Mourinho’s second spell at the Bernabéu.
“Everything is a process. We’ve been together here for a long time, and we have to accept that we’re in a process at Real Madrid,” the Spain full-back told reporters at the national team’s base.
Cucurella drew a line between Spain’s long-settled squad and the rebuild he has joined at club level, where the manager, the backline and much of the summer window turned over at once.
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“We started with a new coach. The beginning may not have been what we expected, but this is a process, and we’ll have to assess everything at the end of the season,” he said.
Six points, seven games, two defeats
The numbers behind the noise are not kind. Real Madrid have taken 15 points from their opening seven La Liga matches, a return built on five wins but undone by two defeats that have shaped the early narrative.
The first came at La Cartuja on 4 September, where Kylian Mbappé’s stoppage-time penalty was saved by Álvaro Valles in a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis, Troy Parrott’s 81st-minute strike settling it. The second was the Madrid derby on 20 September, a 2-1 loss at Atlético that was decided after Dean Huijsen’s red card and left Mourinho’s side six points adrift of Barcelona.
Cucurella joined from Chelsea in a deal Real Madrid confirmed in mid-June, alongside the free arrivals of Ibrahima Konaté and Bernardo Silva.
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A defence held together by Rüdiger
The backdrop to Cucurella’s defence of his coach is an injury list that has thinned Mourinho’s options to the bone. Raúl Asencio’s shin surgery is expected to keep him out for up to four months, and with Huijsen suspended for the red card at the Metropolitano, Antonio Rüdiger has been left as the only available senior centre-back.
The international break has made the picture worse rather than better, with further knocks picked up on national-team duty on top of the problems Mourinho already carried into October.
Spain first, Madrid later
Cucurella’s immediate focus is Spain’s Nations League meeting with Czechia on Saturday. Luis de la Fuente’s side top Group A3 and head into the fixture missing Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Alejandro Grimaldo and Eric García.
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