Against the prevailing tone: Roma's comeback hands Mourinho a historic achievement with Real Madrid
The "Special One" achievement opens the door to a new challenge
Antonio Rudiger's late goal against Roma carries special significance for Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. It crowned a historic win after an incredible comeback, and it took Los Blancos to 500 goals under the Portuguese coach.
Real Madrid were trailing 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico until the 82nd minute, before turning the tables and scoring three goals in a row to win 4-3, in a remarkable comeback yesterday, Wednesday, in the second round of the league phase of the Champions League.
Spanish newspaper "Marca" reckon the milestone highlights Real Madrid's goalscoring prowess and opens the door to a new challenge: continuing to develop an attack which, despite its current statistics, still has plenty of room to grow.
The Portuguese coach hit 500 goals in his 188th match with Real Madrid, an average of 2.66 per game, despite the prevailing narrative that he is a defensive manager.
No club manager with at least 50 matches in charge can better that figure. It is a statistic that reflects his side's attacking quality.
Where those goals have come from tells its own story. Real Madrid have scored 345 goals in 122 matches in La Liga, 92 goals in 38 matches in the Champions League, 55 goals in 24 matches in the Copa del Rey, and eight goals in four matches in the Spanish Super Cup.
His biggest win with Real Madrid came in the Copa del Rey in the 2010/2011 season, 8-0 against Levante.
This season's numbers maintain that trend, at a rate of 2.5 goals per game, a figure that pleases Mourinho, even if it does not entirely meet his expectations. For the Portuguese coach, reaching 500 goals is recognition of the Madrid side's attacking output, and a starting point for further development.
What he wants now is a team with more varied attacking options. Real Madrid must be able to build attacks from possession, to speed up transitions and exploit the depth and pace of his forwards, and to stay dangerous from set pieces, all without sacrificing defensive balance, an essential condition for his approach to continue.
The next step, then, is to turn that capacity into a side that is more varied, clearer in its ideas and harder to contain. Mourinho will enjoy the statistic, if only briefly. He is already looking to the future.
