José Mourinho’s first Clasico week back at Real Madrid began with a complaint about the schedule, not the opponent.

Minutes after Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu, Mourinho sat down with reporters and set the terms for Sunday’s trip to Barcelona.

“There’s no such thing as confidence for El Clasico. It’s another league match, but saying it’s just like any other game would be a lie, completely detached from reality. We’re losing 24 hours of rest, but we’ll be there,” he said.

Hansi Flick’s Barcelona had played their Champions League tie on Tuesday night, a 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain that ended an 11-match winning run from the start of the season. Mourinho’s Madrid played 24 hours later. That gap is what he singled out.

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Flick’s Barcelona six points clear

Barcelona top La Liga after nine matches with a perfect record: nine wins, 27 points. Atlético Madrid are second on 22, Real Madrid third on 21. The gap is already the central story of the 2026-27 season, Flick’s third as Barcelona head coach after back-to-back league titles.

Mourinho will also be without Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian winger was handed a four-match ban by the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee after a red card for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair during the 10 October La Liga game against Villarreal. El Clasico is covered by that suspension.

Mourinho’s focus was the clock

The 24-hour gap is real. UEFA’s Champions League matchweek structure spreads matches across Tuesday and Wednesday nights without factoring in the following weekend’s domestic calendar. Barcelona drew the Tuesday slot, Madrid got Wednesday.

On Wednesday night at the Bernabéu, Mourinho did not address the standings, the Vinicius Junior ban, or how Madrid will set up without their first-choice forward. His focus was the clock.

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This is Mourinho’s first competitive Clasico as Real Madrid’s coach since 2013. He signed a three-year contract on his return to the Bernabéu this summer.

Kick-off at Spotify Camp Nou is on Sunday, 25 October at 9pm local time.

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