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Week two of La Liga and Real Madrid is already five points behind FC Barcelona. The team got the lead before halftime but conceded the tie off a set-piece -is that familiar?-. After that, Mourinho made some risky substitutions that led to some easy counterattacks by Getafe. In one of those, Abdel Barrada put his team in front and Getafe never looked back. Real Madrid rarely seemed capable of equalising.
The blame for this one should be shared. First, Mourinho and Real Madrid's chairmen waited too long before signing reinforcements. On the other hand, Real Madrid's defenders don't get how to defend set-pieces. I'm sure Mourinho and his staff are working on this matter, but for some reason the players don't get it. Cristiano Ronaldo and Özil are in terrible shape also. Even though the German player looked better after Lass was replaced for Benzema, he seems to disappear after 70 minutes, and that's a problem he's been dealing with these last two years. The bad form of every player made them look like Segunda División men in every action that required a minimum of skills with the ball.
One way or another, Real Madrid now has 36 games to overcome a five-point deficit against a FC Barcelona that didn't deserve to win against Osasuna but ended up getting the three points, something Real Madrid should try to do.
The starting lineup was already a mistake to start with. It's good that the team wants to win the Supercup this next Wednesday, but there's no guarantee that the team will be able to overcome the one-goal deficit. That would mean that Real Madrid will visit the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to face Sevilla without a single win in four consecutive games.
Real Madrid didn't actually play that bad. The team had the control of the game and also most of the goal-scoring chances of the match. But it seemed like some of them didn't care about it at all. It's true that Higuaín scored Madrid's only goal, but he could've scored three goals easily if he was at his best. Marcelo's shape is simply terrible. He hadn't played a single preseason game with the team just to win the gold medal at London Olympics, and now he is tired and with overweight.
There's one positive thing. Real Madrid fans now realized how important Pepe is to this team. And it's not Albiol's fault. The Spanish defender played a fantastic game with the single exception of Getafe's second goal, but the striker touched the ball with his hand, so some of the blame also goes to Pérez Lasa. But the Portuguese's attitude on the pitch is something Real Madrid can't replace.
How much will Real Madrid spare from not having signed a player until the last week of the transfer window? Is it really worth five points on one of the most expensive Liga titles in the history of football? This team clearly needs at least two more players. When Mourinho looked at the bench and only saw Morata, he probably realized it. There are some games in which you can't trust a 20-year old player who doesn't have any competitive experience to deliver.
Mourinho got this start of the season wrong. He thought that a team at half of its potential was going to be enough to score some points until the players reached their peak. But it clearly is not enough.