Mourinho’s last Madrid derby was in 2013, and Atletico’s stadium did not exist yet
Real Madrid sit second and Atletico fourth going into Sunday’s derby at the Metropolitano, a ground Jose Mourinho has never coached a game in, with three Real first-teamers and Atletico’s most expensive forward all carrying injuries.
Sep 18, 2026
The last Madrid derby Jose Mourinho coached finished on 17 May 2013, and the stadium he walks into on Sunday did not exist yet. Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid at the Metropolitano at 7.45pm IST, a ground that opened in September 2017, four years after Mourinho left the Bernabeu.
The fixture he last saw in 2013
Mourinho’s Real Madrid met Diego Simeone’s Atletico four times. Real won the first three: 4-1 at the Vicente Calderon in April 2012, 2-0 at home that December, 2-1 back at the Calderon in April 2013. Then came the Copa del Rey final at the Bernabeu, Atletico won it 2-1, and Mourinho left Spain a few weeks later. That was 13 years ago. Simeone has not moved.
There is a version of this story where the history matters on Sunday and a version where it does not, and the honest answer is that nobody knows which one until about 9.30pm IST. What is certain is that Simeone has spent nine of those thirteen years turning the Metropolitano into a specific kind of afternoon for visiting teams, and Mourinho has no first-hand file on the place.
Two points apart
Real Madrid go into it second, on 15 points from six games, beaten once, in the 1-0 at Real Betis that Troy Parrott settled. Atletico are fourth on 13, with a defeat and a draw against their name. Barcelona have won all six and lead on 18, which is the number both Madrid clubs are really playing against.
Atletico arrive on the better recent run, and it turned late. They were goalless at Real Sociedad with nine minutes left on 13 September before a Grimaldo penalty, a first goal for Jonathan David and a Giuliano Simeone finish made it 3-0. Osasuna were then beaten 4-0 at home. Before that fortnight there was a 3-0 loss at San Mames and a defeat at Anfield, and the recovery has come without their most expensive forward.
The absences
Mourinho is without Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy, and none of the three is a short-term problem. Militao’s hamstring is not expected back until late October, Mendy’s thigh injury runs towards the end of the year, and Rodrygo’s knee has him out into 2027. Losing two defenders from that list is the awkward part on a ground where Atletico will put the ball into the box early and often.
Atletico have their own. Julian Alvarez has been managing a muscle strain and has missed four of the club’s seven matches this season, with the derby the fixture his recovery has been built around. Pablo Barrios is out with a calf problem.
What it is worth
Six games is not a season and nothing gets settled at the Metropolitano on Sunday evening. It is still the first real measure of what Mourinho has built since he replaced Alvaro Arbeloa in June, and Simeone has made a career out of being exactly that kind of measure. Barcelona play at Sevilla the night before, so both Madrid sides will know precisely what the result needs to be before they walk out.