Jose Juninho — Fallen Titans: 5 Sep. 2026

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SEVILLA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 13: Coach Jose Mourinho of AS Romacoach Manuel Pellegrini of Real Betis during the UEFA Europa League match between Real Betis Sevilla v AS Roma at the Estadio Benito Villamarin on October 13, 2022 in Sevilla Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

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Writer’s Prelude. The Jose Juninho Era will continue.

Jose Juninho — Betis Match Edition

“All clubs lose. Nobody stays undefeated. Today you win, tomorrow you lose, this is football.“ — Jose Mourinho

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A Quick Disclaimer + Recap. Alright…so we lost against Betis (away) a matchup we haven’t won since 2021. Normally, I was prepared to be pretty calm about a draw or loss given our history at the Benito Villamarin, but today truly does feel like a failure by the squad. Anyway before diving in, I just want to note a few disclaimers: 1) this is being written like 5 mins after the game. I haven’t had time to review many highlights or even see Mourinho’s presser. I’m choosing not to read the Immediate Reaction thread so in many ways this is Juninho’s Immediate Reaction. 2) I will admit I missed a portion of the 2nd half specifically after the 65-70th min. I watched loosely but wasn’t able to watch closely due to irl matters. 3) It’s still early season. A lot can or cannot change. I’m not going to go panic mode or overreact because yeah there’s no point. Also, it’s just better for everyone’s mental health to not allow Real Madrid’s circus to ruin your day / week / month / season. I suggest we all watch Como / Chelsea / Fulham / non-madrid Betis matches for refreshers.

Quickly Things I liked. I’m only sticking on the things I like quickly because I feel like I’ll have much more to say on the negative spin which is unfortunate. For the first half and to be honest for portions of the second half, I thought the team as a whole performed admirably well (besides the two highest paid players on the squad). First, Dean Huijsen has looked amazing in this season. Whether he’s being asked to press high, sit deeper, or dictate play, Dean has answered about every call. Dean continued his great form this game with imo a passionate performance first half even to the point where he clearly called Antony a son of a [beep]. The chill guy is no longer here. This Dean has been possessed with the ethos of #4.

Second, and I’m only typing this portion right now to give this next statement a bit of space because it needs to be boldened and potentially in all caps and you won’t appreciate it if its next to the last bold portion so I’m just truly stalling for time here. ARDA GULER HAS ARRIVED. This is arguably one of the best performances that I’ve seen from Arda his entire career and why many call for him to start as a 10 rather than a RW. Arda Guler deserved at least 2 early assists in the second half and I believe another two from simply set pieces. He was levitating on his dribbles, his passing vision, and creating chances. To be honest, he was still a bit reckless in challenges and is lucky to have escaped being sent off and likely this was one of the main reasons for him being subbed. Nevertheless, Arda was quite clearly the best player on the pitch.

Other than that my only other more positive notes were that Cucurella at times is a breath of fresh air and as much as people don’t love Dumfries he’s needed if we want to allow Arda to succeed in his current role. Camavinga and Fede had a few mistakes but nothing wild so I don’t have a massive issue with their performances either…Jude also played a few creative chances but otherwise was relatively quiet (in a bad way). But anyway

What I didn’t like: Kylian Mbappe x Vini.

I’m going to start with Kyky because he is the world’s best player. I noted two days ago that I’m a bit worried with how much of a volume shooter Mbappe has become in order to be clinical and I joked with malomalomalo (I think its 3x bad but correct me if its only malomalo) that I’m only really a 1/10 concerned. I’m upgrading my concern to 3/10. I’m trying to not overreact because Kylian can go through this spell and by October score every chance in sight, he has shown in past years that he’s very much that player but today when we desperately needed a goal, he vanished like The Last Airbender. I can understand missing some of these chances. I can even maybe forgive missing the near open net because of sheer shock that Vinicius passed during that opportunity BUT the penalty is unforgivable. If Kylian is presented THAT golden opportunity, he absolutely needs to finish it. It’s for these moments that he’s on the field. It’s for these moments that he is celebrated as the best player in the world. It’s these moments that ultimately add up to define his Real Madrid legacy. I’m not sure if our forwards are just tired from minutes but even forgiving the missed chances, Kylian wasn’t his dynamic self. His dribbling at times seemed slow. His passing was off or timid. We just needed more from him.

Second on our earnings list is Vini. I’m going to be brief on Vini because there isn’t too much else to say but Vini has lost a step and Vini clearly knows it. I applaud him for working on his passing which has improved and I applaud him for potentially starting the growth of his game where he looks to pass and play 1-2s more than just simply maraudingly dribbling into the opposition but early in the 1st half there were times where Bellerin was no where to be found and Vini didn’t attack space. If this was the Xabi era, it would be easier to just say this is coaching but I’m not entirely sure those moments really felt like it. It felt like Vini to an extent lost his confidence or at least belief in his own body. Again, I don’t have highlights available but I believe there are about two really prime examples that showcased this. The easy one to reflect on is the pass to Kylian that Kyky missed the open net. Kylian needed to score that opportunity BUT Vini passing isn’t actually the right decision. A confident Vini would have slotted that easily to the GK’s left (Vini’s right) or lifted it over an outstretched hand. To be honest, almost every player of Vini’s caliber would have shot that. Up until that moment Vini truly played the progression of play perfectly, he picked up the brilliant pass and ensured to get in front of the defender. Vini from 23/24 probably speeds away and is on an extremely easy 1v1 but regardless Vini played this moment appropriately until imo the final moment. The second example which I can’t find but you’ll have to trust me on is just a simple transition. Vini receives the ball in the left channel slightly passed the half way line and instead of attacking the backpedaling defensive line or the acres of space, he slows down. Idk why but it was just an odd sight to see especially given that the opposition was Bellerin and later Marc Bartra (both defensive players over 30 with so-so legs). Vini just isn’t getting past players as frequently anymore except for when legs eventually tire in the 75+ min. Maybe this just is the new Vini adapting to a new body. Maybe this is him just biding his legs and getting back into shape. Maybe this is just what we need to prep for going forward. Idk but it’s concerning.

Finally…we need to see Espi wayyy earlier. This plea is going to fall on deaf ears because ultimately Florentino Perez refuses to allow managers to manage and clearly isn’t in the business of squad building or ensuring we have a cohesive sporting unit rather than marketing assets (please review the past 3 years if you disagree). But Espi needs to come on earlier and Espi needs to come on for either Kylian, Vini, or Jude during games like these. I understand that Arda needed to be subbed after stupidly getting a yellow card and escaping another but as I believe KFZ or Danger_Noodle said “the game somewhat died after Arda was subbed.” At times like these when neither Vini nor Kylian are clinical and Jude is either exhausted or just no where to be found, Espi can be a focal point and saving grace. We need him and we need to start treating the Real Madrid lineup like a meritocracy.

But that’s all there is to today. Oh Como beat Genoa

Cheers,

J

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