"We knew where we could hurt them": Diego Simeone ruthlessly exposes Real Madrid's major weakness

Jose Mourinho paid a bitter price with Real in the derby against Atletico Madrid. After the 2-1 defeat, L'Equipe reveal the devastating disarray at Real Madrid.

The French sports daily published a first-half heat map of the Royals. It showed superstars Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior occupying almost exactly the same space on the pitch across the entire opening 45 minutes.

Doubts over how they would combine had already surfaced before kick-off, but Mourinho stuck with them and started Mbappe and Vinicius alongside Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler from the outset.

That quartet failed because the side lacked balance. Rather than using space intelligently to bring out their individual qualities, the attacking players kept getting in each other's way.

With all four operating in the same areas, the Royals lost their attacking threat and their coordination problems were exposed as soon as the opponent's intensity increased. In an intense duel, the team looked badly disorganised.

Diego Simeone: This is Real Madrid's weakness

Atletico coach Diego Simeone targeted those weaknesses throughout and said after the final whistle about the outcome of the match: "Apart from the dismissals, the course of the game was clear: one team had more possession, one team made use of the decisive moments, and the other team did not create the goalscoring chances it normally has. We knew where we could hurt them, namely on their left side."

L'Equipe's analysis was downright devastating. "Mbappe and Vinicius positioned themselves in almost the same area throughout the entire first half - a scene that clearly exposed Real Madrid's collective problem and the poor distribution of roles within the team," the paper wrote.

Dean Huijsen's sending-off in the second half made the visitors' situation even worse. Down to 10 men, Madrid conceded twice and ultimately had to accept a 2-1 defeat.

After the defeat, Mourinho sensed a conspiracy, while Bellingham also criticised the referee's decisions. It was doubly bitter for Real anyway: not only did they fail to pick up any points, midfielder Fede Valverde has also reportedly suffered a serious injury.