Mourinho brings a printed sheet and old paranoia to Real Madrid's derby defeat against Atlético

Atlético Madrid defeated Real Madrid 2-1 on Sunday at the Metropolitano in front of 70,514 fans, and the derby brought back the most theatrical version of José Mourinho: papers, suspicion and the referee at the centre of the story. The Real Madrid coach walked into the press room holding a printed sheet with two first-half screenshots, using it to argue that Cuti Romero's challenge on Jude Bellingham and Kang-in Lee's tackle on Fede Valverde both deserved red cards. Meanwhile, Diego Simeone beat him in a derby again, thirteen years after their last one, this time driven by his son Giuliano, decisive for the penalty and the second goal.

• Atlético Madrid beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Metropolitano in front of 70,514 spectators.
• Giuliano Simeone wins the penalty for the first goal and sets up the second before celebrating with his father.
• Mourinho flashes a printed sheet in his press conference to protest two potential red cards that were not given.
• Dean Huijsen is sent off for dragging down Giuliano Simeone early in the second half.
• Real Madrid remain six points behind the league leaders and still look unconvincing.

Giuliano Simeone decides a derby he once watched from the sofa

The most heartwarming story of the match did not come from the press room. During the previous derby between Simeone and Mourinho, Giuliano was ten years old. He stayed home with his brothers because it was late on a school night, hung scarves around the living room and watched the final from the sofa. At 23, he is now a bundle of intensity in the Atlético shirt. He won the penalty that put his team ahead and created the play for the second goal. His father, who once sprinted down the touchline to hug him when he was a ball boy, again ran towards him to celebrate. Only this time their roles had changed.

Mourinho, the printed screenshots and another classic protest

Mourinho walked in, placed his glasses on the table and unfolded a piece of paper. He told reporters they could save themselves the press conference because the story was right there in his hands. On the back of an Atlético info sheet were two printed captures from the first half: Romero catching Bellingham's knee and Lee's studs on Valverde's ankle. For him, both were straight reds, and the match should have been nine against eleven. Instead, shortly after the restart, Huijsen pulled down Giuliano inside the box, gave away the penalty and was sent off.

"We can save ourselves the bother of the press conference," Mourinho said, "because the story is right here."

Referee complaints, a routine Mourinho has been playing since 2009

There was almost no football talk. Of the five questions he took, four were about the referee, and so was the answer to the only one that was not. Mourinho aimed at the young match official, just 41 and without international pedigree, and also at the VAR official, Daniel Trujillo Suárez, a man with history in his view. He mentioned "strange things", insisted he did not want to think badly of referees and congratulated the referees' committee before vowing to keep fighting for the title from six points back, adding the eternal caveat: "if they let us." The echo of the 13 referee errors he listed against Clos Gómez in 2009 was impossible to miss.

The deeper Real Madrid problem cannot be printed on a sheet

The referee discourse covered up a more uncomfortable truth: Real Madrid were simply not very good. Atlético produced more than twice as many shots and controlled two-thirds of possession. Simeone knew where to hurt them and loaded the left side of Madrid's defence. Before the controversial moments, Mourinho's team had only managed one shot on target, on 39 minutes and from 25 yards. After the red card, the response barely existed. The goal in the 89th minute was an isolated flash, because Atlético created more chances after it. Neither with ten men nor with eleven did Real Madrid find a clear identity.

What Real Madrid risk after the Metropolitano defeat

This is not a one-off slip. Real Madrid sit six points off the top after just seven rounds, and the warning signs are familiar: last-gasp wins against Espanyol and Elche thanks to stoppage-time goals from Carlos Espí, recurring issues off the ball and a rebuild that has not truly started. The only time Barcelona have ever lost a lead that size at the top in the modern era was in 2006-07, when Fabio Capello's Real Madrid produced an implausible late charge. Hansi Flick's team are flying now, and this Madrid side does not look trustworthy enough to take advantage if they stumble. Claude Makélélé summed them up in three words: "Nothing, nothing, nothing."

Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and a relentless Barcelona in the other big game

While Real Madrid search for answers, Barcelona keep accelerating. Raphinha scored a spectacular hat-trick at the Pizjuán in a 3-1 win at Sevilla, taking his tally to 12 league goals in seven games, five more than anyone else. The Brazilian is filling in at centre forward and his movement, speed and finishing make him the most dangerous player in the competition right now. Lamine Yamal was equally absurd in Seville. Fermín López explained it simply: give him the ball and he scores. Seven wins from seven and 31 goals put Flick's team in orbit.

A derby that keeps the Mourinho-Simeone rivalry alive

Thirteen years have passed since Simeone beat Mourinho's Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final at the Bernabéu. The stadium is new, but the two characters look the same: one dressed in black and focused on the mental battle, the other celebrating with his whole body and living the derby like a fan. Mourinho called his rival a "colleague of war." Giuliano, the boy who once leapt into his father's arms as a ball boy, provided the goals and the intensity. Diego Simeone, all these years later, got the win. And Mourinho, once again, brought the print-out.