Makelele argued that Real Madrid were weak against a highly motivated and disciplined Atlético side.
By Kehinde Okeowo
French association football manager and former Chelsea midfielder, Claude Makélélé, has faulted José Mourinho’s tactical set-up during Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss to Atlético Madrid in a derby played at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last weekend.
He criticised the Portuguese tactician’s approach to the game recently while analysing the encounter in a chat with ESPN.
Atlético Madrid took a two-goal lead in the highly intriguing encounter after Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David scored in the 53rd and 59th minutes respectively.
Despite Madrid’s gallant fightback and Antonio Rüdiger’s 89th-minute goal, the home side held on to claim a famous victory in the match.
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Reacting to the defeat, Makélélé, who once played for Los Blancos, criticised how Mourinho set up the La Liga giants against a disciplined Atlético side.
According to the former French defensive midfielder, there was a lack of proper strategy for the derby game and Real were set up to fail.
He said, “There is no understanding. Neither between the players nor with the coach. Mourinho must talk to them.
“The team is weak, there is no game plan and no clear ideas. There is nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing… Absolutely nothing. We must demand more from them.”
While rubbishing claims that the refereeing was poor in the match, Makélélé added, “The problem is not the referee, there is an obvious deficiency in the team.”
