Jose Mourinho will leave Alvaro Carreras out of the Real Madrid starting line-up for Sunday’s La Liga match against Malaga, with Marc Cucurella set to begin at left-back.
Carreras started Real Madrid’s first two matches of the season, against Espanyol and Real Sociedad, but Mourinho confirmed on Saturday that the Portugal international would be among the substitutes for the meeting with Malaga.
According to Spanish newspaper AS, Carreras was booked in the 10th minute of Real Madrid’s previous match and could have done more during the move that led to Real Sociedad’s goal. Mourinho replaced him with Cucurella at half-time.
“Jose Mourinho is not attached to anyone, and he proved it during Real Madrid’s match against Real Sociedad,” AS reported. “After a first half full of positives and negatives, the manager decided to replace Alvaro Carreras at half-time.”
Carreras was one of the players who attracted attention during a first half in which Real Madrid went from looking the stronger side to struggling. His pass-completion rate into the final third was 33%, while he lost possession six times and received an early yellow card.
Those figures contributed to him being held partly responsible for Real Sociedad’s equaliser. However, AS identified Susic as the main cause of the goal, with Carreras slow to close him down and unable to reach the correct position to block the shot.
That combination of factors persuaded Mourinho to make the change at the interval, AS said. The Portuguese manager, though, explained the decision primarily by pointing to Carreras’ booking.
“I decided to bring Cucurella on for Carreras because of the booking. It was dangerous in the one-on-one situation with Kubo,” Mourinho said.
Cucurella had been one of the last members of the Real Madrid squad to join pre-season preparations because of his involvement in the World Cup.
Despite having been a Real Madrid player for only 17 days, the Spain international had already appeared in three matches. Those outings included the team’s final friendly against Schalke and Real Madrid’s opening two league fixtures, giving him 100 minutes of playing time before he was handed his first start against Malaga.
The left-back made a significant impact after coming on against Real Sociedad. He won 100% of his tackles, recovered possession three times and was not dribbled past on any occasion.
With Cucurella on the pitch, Real Madrid’s left flank became a genuine source of danger for Real Sociedad. The score also changed from 1-1 to 4-1 in Real Madrid’s favour in less than 35 minutes.
The decision underlines Mourinho’s willingness to make immediate changes when he believes a player’s performance or circumstances require it, regardless of whether that player began the previous matches.
The issues surrounding Carreras’ omission, Cucurella’s growing role and Mourinho’s selection choices can also be discussed in greater depth on the Kooora forums.
Related coverage includes a report on Ismael Saibari making a strong Bundesliga debut, scoring twice on his first appearance, and news that Newcastle are considering a move for a Moroccan star before the transfer window closes.
