Mourinho Is Turning Real Madrid Back Into Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho returned to the Santiago Bernabeu in June, thirteen years removed from his first stint in charge, promising a club still searching for its edge that he could bring back the version of Real Madrid everyone remembered. Nine days and three matches into the 2026/27 La Liga campaign, that promise is already looking real. Real Madrid have won every match they’ve played. Nine points from a possible nine. Top of the table. And here’s the detail that makes it remarkable: Mourinho never managed this feat during his entire first spell at the club.

Three Games, Zero Slip-Ups

Real Madrid opened the season with a hard-fought 2-1 win on the road against Espanyol. They followed that up by taking apart Real Sociedad 4-1 at home. Then, on August 30, they closed out the week with a commanding 4-0 win over Malaga at the Bernabeu — without conceding a single goal.

The Malaga performance in particular showed the team clicking into gear:

• Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the 19th minute
• Bellingham forced an own goal seven minutes later to make it 2-0
• Kylian Mbappe added the third
• Arda Guler, set up by Vinicius Junior, put the finishing touch on the scoreline

Three matches. Three wins. Zero goals conceded in the most recent outing. That’s not just a strong opening week — it’s a statement of intent.

A Record That Eluded Him the First Time Around

Here’s what makes this run stand out: Mourinho never opened a season with three straight league wins during his original stretch in charge at Real Madrid, despite three full campaigns on the touchline.

• 2010/11: 2 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses — 7 points
• 2011/12: 2 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss — 6 points
• 2012/13: 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss — 4 points
• 2026/27 (current): 3 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses — 9 points

Across six combined seasons spanning two separate eras at the club, this is the best start Mourinho has ever produced at Real Madrid. It’s worth noting that three games is a small sample, and perfect starts can unravel quickly. But at a club that has burned through coaches at a rapid pace since Carlo Ancelotti’s departure, a flawless opening week doesn’t happen by accident.

The Rebuild Behind the Results

This version of Real Madrid looks different from the one Mourinho inherited in June — and that’s by design. The club spent close to £200 million overhauling the roster around him over the summer, and each addition appears to be filling a specific need:

• Marc Cucurella joined from Chelsea for roughly £52 million and made his first official start against Malaga, controlling the left flank throughout the match
• Denzel Dumfries arrived from Inter Milan, giving Mourinho a genuine attacking outlet at right back
• Ibrahima Konate signed on a free transfer from Liverpool to anchor the center of defense
• Bernardo Silva joined on a free transfer from Manchester City, bringing a decorated midfielder with a trophy-laden résumé from his time in England

Freeing Up Bellingham

The tactical adjustment behind the results is visible on the pitch. Rather than competing with Vinicius Junior and Mbappe for the same attacking spaces, Bellingham is now playing in a pocket behind both of them. The logic is straightforward: position the team’s best attacking midfielder centrally between the lines, let the two most explosive attackers run into space in behind, and trust a retooled back line to clean up whatever gets through.

Mourinho Is Staying Grounded

Despite the perfect start, Mourinho isn’t treating it as a finished product. Speaking after a preseason win over Deportivo, he kept the focus on what’s ahead rather than what’s already happened: “You know the five who are at Valdebebas. And next week, the real work begins.”

It’s a familiar pattern for a coach who has rarely let a good week turn into complacency. Nine points from nine buys goodwill, but little else, inside a Real Madrid dressing room that has now gone two seasons without a major trophy. What these three wins really demonstrate isn’t that the job is finished — it’s that the coach who returned to Madrid this summer isn’t interested in reliving old memories. He’s building toward something he still intends to finish.