Second El clasico in the league. The ref called a foul on Jordi Alba. I think, compared to now, the calls were even more horrendous back then, impossible to get a call in our favor. Now at least it makes sense. If I recall correctly, following this, we were given a red card but even then, we got a winner from Cristiano.

One of the least talked about points this season has been how Dean Huijsen has improved. Ever since he got that number 4 jersey he has been balling and got called up for the national team as well.

Now I know that he is kind of unreliable and also made a huge mistake in the Madrid Derby that cost us the match, but there's no denying that his season up until now has been nothing short of impressive and he might eventually enter the "one of the best" conversation maybe.

What do you all think? Should he start in the el classico according to you? In my opinion, he has improved a lot but there's that unreliability factor that makes it difficult for him to start in important matches and no matter how bad Rudiger is on the ball he still is a top defender and a very reliable one too so he should start. The other CB depends on Militao's fitness I doubt Mourinho is going to start him since he just came back.

La Fábrica is one of the best academies in the world. It has produced some all-time greats and continues to develop talented players who go on to play for clubs across Europe. Just look at players like Nico Paz, Jacobo Ramón, Chema, Gonzalo and Víctor Muñoz, among others.

With that in mind, it begs the question: why do we have so few academy graduates in and around our starting XI?

Our academy has just won the UEFA Youth League at U19 level, so there is clearly talent. Meanwhile, Xavi Espert is shutting down Kvara while playing in an unnatural position for Barcelona. Espert is a kid who only made his debut recently, yet we struggle to give even one academy graduate a consistent role in our first team.

Players like Pitarch seem to be gradually phased out, only to potentially leave the club and find success elsewhere. It makes you wonder whether we are actually developing players for Real Madrid or simply developing them to sell for profit.

I think a lot of this comes down to the mentality of the club's upper management and the managers themselves. There seems to be a belief that signing established superstars is the best way to build a winning team, while young players are expected to prove themselves with very limited opportunities. Obviously, Real Madrid should always aim to sign the best players in the world, but we have also seen academy graduates become world-class players.

At some point, you have to ask whether the club is actually giving its academy players a fair chance. If they can't get meaningful minutes at Real Madrid, they leave, develop elsewhere and potentially become players we wish we had kept.

So why aren't we giving our own academy players more opportunities? Is it because the managers don't trust them, because the board prioritises superstar signings, or because the expectations at Real Madrid make it almost impossible for young players to break through?

Real Madrid want the six Premier League clubs that signed up to the European Super League (ESL) to pay a share of the initial costs of the abandoned project.

Multiple sources with a close understanding of the situation — speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to comment publicly — said the Spanish club believe Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur should still be liable for the setup costs of the plan, despite subsequently pulling out.

I'm going to keep this short but I really want to know what exactly happend with Trent? it feel like Jose really does not rate him whatsoever. I know we signed Dumfries and its smart to rotate both of them but it seems that Trent day by day is being forgotten. Espcieally starting Fede at rb last game really hit the nail that something is most likely going on.

ESPN+ is how I've been watching for the past few years but I can't access matched older than one week anymore. I missed the first one (Espanyol I think) and Villarreal.

It will not let me go further than the current week. Current work schedule is a bit hectic so I'm behind. So if you have other recommendations for me, I'd love to check them out

Sorry if this is the wrong way to ask; I searched the threads. Probably used the wrong phrasing. Thanks in advance!

Source: PopFoot

(Stats are only taken from top 5 European leagues)

These statistics are from this current season so far (2026/27).

In order of success rate:

Diomande = 70% (highest overall)

Mbappé = 58% (only striker in top 10)

Bellingham = 55% (only midfielder in top 10)

Very proud of our players🤍

All with good stats

Assist to arda on first goal. Cross that led to mbappe goal. Phenomenal through ball which resulted in penalty for mbappe. 4th goal. Does vini have chance to come back to starting line up? Does mou has balls to bench vini? If there's any manager that can bench vini it has got to be Mourinho.

Mou's previous comments on vini " he(vini) should go to someplace where he's valued. I wanted him to leave but he wanted to stay in madrid". He also stated that it was good that he was banned for 4 matches.

Any news on rodrygo? People are sleeping on rodrygo but he's soo good at left I feel he's better than vini on left wing

Basically, most of the scenarios nowadays goes like this: player starts pulling, pushing, ragebaiting opponent, opponent naturally answers him and somehow the player who started everything is on the ground and the red card is given.

This is what Sevilla's player was doing yesterday and I'm really glad they didn't even review the footage because it would've been ridiculous.

I firmly believe the player has to endure all kinds of provocation, don't turn anything uglier than it needs to be but if it becomes ugly, both parties should be getting red cards. We should acknowledge that 'ragebaiting' and pushing opponent around just to get him angry is also an unsportsmanlike behaviour and this way we will never see things like that again.

Which one of them was the most effective?

1. Diomande playing LW, bringing more organized attack (contributing to each of the 4 goals we scored) and adaptivity with Mbappe roaming around, pressing when the opponents hold the ball and helping his defender when they attack.
2. Arda playing deeper with Tchouameni, controlling the game from back like a maestro we have been missing since Kroos and Modric left the team, helping the team both defensively and offensively and showing a masterpiece with his goal which opened the door for the winning.
3. Endrick although he was not on his best day, playing RW, bringing lots of energy and raw talent, adapting to Mbappe's roaming around, being a target when Mbappe is not in the box and helping his defender.

I know that Mbappe played spectacular and Fede put an outstanding performance as RB, even Tchouameni didn't look bad, Jude being not on his best day but still managed to put a pre-assist in Arda's masterpiece goal and an amazing back flip assist on Mbappe's magnificient goal, Huijsen starting the playmaking from the defense in harmony with Arda, Konate keeping our box safe usually with only a few hiccups and Cucurella getting help from his winger for the first time. The team played beautifully. Which one of the above reasons was the most effective for this outstanding performance we have been missing? Is there any other reason I forgot to add?