The Real Madrid Sentinel
Match26 Aug 2028
Nobody wins at Real Madrid
23 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match26 Aug 2028
Osasuna punish Real Madrid for switching off
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Rodrygo will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Real Madrid escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Match26 Aug 2028
Whatever happens, Real Madrid do not lose
10 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Market28 Aug 2028
Real Madrid turn down Zaragoza for Marc Cucurella
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Real Madrid
Thibaut Courtois was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market28 Aug 2028
Real Madrid may not be able to give Luiz Júnior what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Luiz Júnior wants continental football; whether Real Madrid can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Thibaut Courtois gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Jorge Esteban is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Jude Bellingham was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.58. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
- Player ratings A masterclass from Rodrygo
- Squad The manager has not finished forgetting Gonçalo Ramos's mistake
- Loan watch Arda Güler counts the days