Winning the Clasico is not enough: Mourinho enters his toughest six days with Real Madrid

How will the Portuguese coach act?

Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho have cut the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to three points. The hard part starts now.

Last Sunday brought a 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the tenth round of the Spanish league.

According to "Mundo Deportivo", the week before the final international break of the year hands the Royal Club three away matches in just six days: Racing Santander, AEK Athens and Valencia.

It all kicks off in Santander next Sunday at 4:15pm, moves on to Athens on Wednesday 4 November at 6:45pm, and wraps up at Mestalla on Saturday 7 November at 9:00pm.

Mourinho has branded the schedule unfair for weeks. He reckons the Valencia game could at least have been moved to the Sunday, giving Los Blancos an extra day of rest.

The Catalan newspaper reckons the Portuguese has a point, but he is glossing over one detail. His own club asked La Liga to shift its away match in this twelfth round, chasing the commercial windfall of hosting an American football (NFL) game at the stadium.

Real Madrid now have one task: stretch an unbeaten run of five matches, their best of the season. That form has them sitting pretty in the UEFA Champions League, fourth with a perfect nine points, and they want to avoid slipping further behind in the Spanish league.

From here to the end of the year, the Royal Club go into most of their fixtures as firm favourites. Only one stands out as a genuine test: the final European match of 2025 against Premier League champions Arsenal in London on 9 December.