Portugal's Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid coach, began laying the foundations of his new defensive line during the clash with Real Sociedad in La Liga.
According to the Spanish newspaper "AS", the 35th minute brought an urgent intervention as Mourinho demanded more concentration from his defenders. A powerful strike from Sergio Gomez had gone close to the Real Madrid goal, ending the calm Thibaut Courtois had enjoyed since saving from Mikel Oyarzabal in the tenth minute.
Five players went straight over to warm up with fitness coach Antonio Pintus: Cucurella, Camavinga, Brahim Diaz, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Asencio. The Portuguese coach explained it plainly: "I always do that in the 35th minute. I like everyone to be inside during the break, because there are instructions for everyone."
The second half began with the score locked at a one-goal draw. Cucurella came on for Alvaro Carreras, making his first appearance as a new Real Madrid player at the Santiago Bernabeu.
That switch produced a back four featuring three of the summer's signings. Dumfries and Cucurella took the full-back berths, while Konate lined up as a right-sided centre-back alongside Huijsen, signed last season, on the left. Mourinho spelt out the reasoning: "The change of Carreras was because of the yellow card (a card he received in the tenth minute following a challenge on Kubo)."
Real Madrid's technical staff have settled on this combination, and few changes look likely. At most, Rudiger might come in for Konate or Huijsen before Militao returns.
These four are set to lead the back line through the season's decisive matches. Dumfries, used to playing in a five-man defence, has overtaken Trent to become the undisputed first-choice right-back. With Cucurella on the left, both push the defensive line higher and give the side the platform to defend, attack and press in advanced areas, freeing the midfielders and forwards to apply the high press Mourinho wants.
Opta's numbers tell a striking story. Dumfries ranked fifth for passes in the final third with 15, behind Guler on 25, Mbappe on 22, level with Valverde, and Bernardo on 17.
Konate topped the tackling chart with two successful challenges, level with Cucurella. Huijsen completed the most passes, 69 out of 72, a 95.8% success rate that made him the best on the pitch.
Carreras stood out defensively too, recovering four balls, matching Huijsen's tally. In all, Real Madrid's back line recovered 15 balls, seven of them, nearly half, inside Real Sociedad's half.
Defensively, Real Madrid allowed only three shots on Courtois's goal, the same number they faced against Espanyol.
Even so, three is a high figure for a Mourinho side. who kept a clean sheet in 30 matches during the 2010-2011 season, shutting out opponents in 16 of 38 La Liga games, 8 of 12 in the UEFA Champions League and 6 of 9 in the Copa del Rey. That made 30 clean sheets from 59 matches, clear of the 50% mark.
This back line's cohesion should only grow over the coming weeks before the international break. On the schedule are Malaga, Betis and the Champions League opener, then Rayo and Elche, before the derby against Atletico at the Metropolitano.
"AS" signed off with this: "With the arrival at the decisive stages, a new white wall begins to lay its foundations to represent a new defence for a better level of protection."
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