The Special One's second coming at Real Madrid started with a bang. Three games, three wins and 10 goals, with Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe forming a formidable front three under the watchful eye of Jose Mourinho, back in the dugout 13 years after leaving Los Blancos.
After Malaga were dispatched 4-0 at the Bernabeu – coming hot on the heels of their 4-1 home demolition of Real Sociedad and 2-1 win at Espanyol – the Portuguese coach made clear his faith in Real's so-called 'Untouchables' who already have seven goals and four assists between them.
“Very, very good players want to play together always, because they have the same speed of thought, the same quality and they always have to be compatible,” Mourinho said of his superstar attacking triptych.
“It was said that I didn't want the three, but what I say is that I always want the best.”
All three came in for criticism from Real fans last season, but have all received high praise from their new coach with the new season only a few weeks old.
Bellingham, 23, has seen his role change with Mourinho keen to reduce his defensive workload and focus on attacking areas, calling him a "unique player". “Bellingham sometimes defended like a second left-back last season,” said the Portuguese. “I told him I do not want to see that any more. I made a deal with him."
After Mbappe bagged a hat-trick against Sociedad, Mourinho described him as “hungry to make history”, having already suggested the French striker, 27, should win the Ballon d'Or after becoming the all-time top scorer at World Cups over the summer.
“What Mourinho has and has had throughout his career is that he’s a guy who knows how to win and how to bring a group together,” Mbappe said on Monday. “He knows how to motivate an entire club and group to go in the same direction and win matches.”
Vinicius – who had been linked with a move over the summer but instead signed a new six-year deal to remain in the Spanish capital – has been hailed by Mourinho as “a machine”, calling the 26-year-old “a pleasure to watch work”.
Bump in road for Real
The first bump in the road came last Friday as Mourinho's side were beaten 1-0 at Real Betis. Real had 20 attempts on goal, eight of which were on target, and 59 touches inside the Betis box, but could not find that elusive goal.
Even after substitute Troy Parrott had scored for Betis in the 81st minute, there was still time for Carlos Espi to have an acrobatic finish ruled out for offside and Mbappe miss a stoppage-time penalty.
“Sometimes you lose and don’t know why or how to explain it,” said Mourinho, who picked up a second-half booking for remonstrating with officials. “Betis, who played for the draw, hit the jackpot … We clearly deserved to win, but deserving doesn’t give you points.”
It was a trademark Mourinho rant; the 63-year-old was critical of his “naive” Real team, while calling Betis players "more streetwise” for play-acting. “That boy who looked like he was dead right in front of my bench, I thought the ambulance was coming,” he added, “but in the end, there was no ambulance.”
The defeat leaves Real in third place in La Liga, three points shy of leaders and defending champions Barcelona, who made it four wins from four by thrashing bottom club Valencia 5-0. The first Clasico takes place on October 25.
Real take on Inter Milan at home in their opening match of the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday. One of Mourinho's two European Cup triumphs came during his treble-winning 2009/10 campaign in Italy, six years after guiding Porto to the trophy.
Chivu's coaching journey
Current Inter manager, Cristian Chivu, was a stalwart in that Mourinho Inter squad, in defence during that famous seasonnce that famous season – despite suffering a fractured skull in January. He started in the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich in Madrid, days before Mourinho left to begin his first stint at Real.
Chivu took over at Inter in the summer of 2025, just over a month after Inter's Champions League final battering by Paris Saint-Germain and manager Simone Inzaghi leaving for Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.
In his first season, Inter secured the scudetto and Coppa Italia double, the Nerazzurri's first since 2010, drawing inevitable comparisons toChivu's old coachh, who admitted earlier this year that he never envisioned Chivu becoming a manager.
“I worked in the youth sector for a long time; there needed to be a journey,” admitted Chivu, 45, whose only other senior coaching role was a short reign at Parma. “I started from the bottom, and I learnt a thousand things that have served me along the way.”
And Chivu's Inter have started their Serie A title defence by winning all three of their matches so far, including on Saturday when they fought back from two goals down to beat Napoli 3-2 at the San Siro.
The one sobering blip for Inter last season came when they lost 5-2 on aggregate to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League play-offs. Inter had begun the group stage with four wins, only for results to drop off, costing them direct entry to the knockout stage and leading to the Bodo/Glimt embarrassment.
Standing in Chivu's way on Tuesday will be the more daunting challenge of 15-time European champions Real and his wily old coach. “Chivu will always be one of my own. I’m very happy for him, for what he’s achieving,” insisted Mourinho, ahead of a group stage that will see him take on another of his former clubs, Roma.
“He has been my player; we worked together, we went through so many things together … There are former players who, without experience, go on to coach top-level teams, and some are good while others are not. He is succeeding.”
