From the Vinicius predicament to the lost identity: three weeks for Mourinho to save Real Madrid

Vinicius Junior tops the list of problems demanding swift intervention from Jose Mourinho during the international break. The Brazilian has looked well below his usual level since the start of the season, scoring only once. He has squandered a string of easy chances and given the ball away time and again, leaving him far from the impact expected of him in the final third.

The crisis doesn't stop at his attacking output. Real Madrid also suffer from a clear problem on the left flank, where Vinicius fails to provide adequate defensive cover, leaving space behind him that opponents exploit continuously. The Madrid derby laid it bare, as Atletico found room on that side and used it to pressure the Real defence.

Criticism has mounted in recent weeks. Press reports claim Real Madrid's fans are starting to lose patience with the player, with demands to hand Yan Diomande a start at the Brazilian's expense. The international break gives Mourinho time to assess the situation and make a decision that could reshape the team when competitions resume.

The ball remains in Mourinho's court. Will the Portuguese continue to place his faith in Vinicius, waiting for the player to rediscover his level and drag himself out of the slump? Or will he go bolder, dropping him to the bench and giving Diomande his chance, hoping it fires up the Brazilian and pushes him to fight his way back into the starting line-up.

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José Mourinho has settled on Aurélien Tchouaméni and Fede Valverde in midfield lately, with Jude Bellingham ahead of them. It's not yet the ideal fit for Real Madrid. The French and Uruguayan duo share too many of the same traits, from physical strength and relentless running to their dominance in duels and their knack for covering space.

What Madrid really need is a player who can think and set the rhythm from deep. That's where Bernardo Silva comes in. His qualities are entirely different: he keeps the ball under pressure, controls the tempo of a match and threads line-breaking passes that leave the forwards facing defences from far better positions.

Pep Guardiola leaned on Bernardo Silva for good reason at Manchester City, handing him a central role in the system thanks to his ability to link the lines and shift attacks from different areas of the pitch. That is exactly the function the Portuguese was meant to bring to Madrid after signing, the engine to give the midfield a creative dimension it lacks.

Instead, Bernardo Silva has spent most of the recent matches on the bench. Madrid's midfield is missing an influential figure who can change the shape of play with the ball. That absence sometimes drags Arda Güler into deeper areas to help build attacks and move the ball into the final third, pulling the Turkish player away from the zones where he can hurt opponents and create danger.

Mourinho, then, must rethink the midfield over the break. That doesn't mean dropping Tchouaméni or Valverde. It means striking a balance between physical strength and creativity, giving Bernardo Silva the role Madrid signed him for. Only then will the team stop leaning on direct passing and individual solutions, and only then will Arda Güler get his advanced position back rather than being forced to keep dropping deep.

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Real Madrid's biggest problem under José Mourinho may lie in the absence of a clear tactical shape to break down opposition defences. Too often, Los Blancos lean on individual brilliance rather than repeated attacking patterns and clear ideas to reach the opponents' goal. That leaves the Merengues forever waiting on an exceptional moment from one of their players.

Kylian Mbappé stands out as the most prominent source of those individual solutions. But leaning on his ability alone cannot sustain a whole season, especially with most of the team's victories arriving after visible struggles, whether through the difficulty of creating chances or the wait for an individual spark to settle the match. It all points to the scale of the battle Madrid are facing on the pitch.

Round by round, Real Madrid have grown to need more varied ideas against opponents. Relying on the same approach makes them easier to read, handing rivals the chance to close down the spaces in front of Mbappé and Vinícius and cut the attacking line off from the rest of the side. The task grows harder still whenever Madrid meet a team good at defensive organisation and pressing the man on the ball.

That is where the international break matters for Mourinho. He now has time to reassess and devise new tactical solutions, whether through off-the-ball movement, constant switching between the positions of his attackers, or better build-up from the back. A squad of this calibre must translate into a collective system that creates chances, not one that simply waits for a particular player to shine.

The issue grows sharper against the picture Barcelona present under German coach Hansi Flick. They have started the season in strong fashion, winning their first seven matches with commanding results and striking attacking numbers. That gives the race for the top of La Liga a fresh shape, and it hands Mourinho a clear challenge: to find a tactical identity for Real Madrid that lets them impose their style rather than merely react to each match as it comes.

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Carlos Espí deserves a bigger role at Real Madrid in the coming weeks. He has proven he can make a difference off the bench, conjuring late wins against Espanyol and Elche despite only a handful of minutes on the pitch. That kind of goalscoring instinct is exactly what the Whites can put to good use.

Prising Kylian Mbappé out of the centre-forward role will be difficult, granted. But Mourinho could try something different: push the new arrival up front as a striker and shift Mbappé to the left wing, his preferred position, rather than leaning permanently on Vinícius.

Such a switch would hand Real Madrid far more variety in attack. It would tap into Espí's eye for goal and return Mbappé to a position from which he threatens more. Add it to the list of options Mourinho can trial once the break ends and across some of the upcoming fixtures.

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