Less than 24 hours after tearing Real Sociedad apart at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid were back on the grass at Valdebebas. Real Madrid vs Malaga is next up on Sunday afternoon, and Jose Mourinho spent Thursday working with a squad that is stretched thinner than he would like.
The bare facts first. Madrid host Malaga on Sunday in matchday three of LaLiga, kick-off 17:00 CEST (16:00 BST), live on Movistar LaLiga in Spain. Los Blancos arrive on six points from six after wins over Espanyol and a 4-1 demolition of Real Sociedad inspired by a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick.
Real Madrid vs Malaga team news: seven out at Valdebebas
According to Mundo Deportivo, Thursday’s session was defined by absences. Seven players were sidelined through injury: Aurelien Tchouameni, Raul Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Endrick and Thiago Pitarch. Rodrygo and Mendy remain long-term concerns, while Militao and Asencio are working their way back from muscle problems.
Wednesday’s starters, Jude Bellingham among them, were kept to recovery work rather than full training. Mourinho will get his first proper look at his options on Friday, when the group returns to its usual morning slot.
That leaves the Portuguese with a genuine selection puzzle. He has already signalled that changes are coming, and with the midfield thinned out in particular, minutes are there for players who have not yet had them. Federico Valverde, the club captain, and Bernardo Silva are the obvious anchors of whatever shape he lands on.
Brahim Diaz and Dean Huijsen face their boyhood club
The fixture carries a personal charge for two members of the squad. As Marca report, both Brahim Diaz and Dean Huijsen grew up in Malaga’s academy, and both will line up against the blue-and-white shirt that made them.
Brahim left Malaga in 2013, aged just 14, when Manchester City paid €300,000 to prise the academy’s brightest talent away in a deal driven by Pep Guardiola’s brother. He has never let go of the connection, returning home every summer to run a training camp at CD Tiro Pichon, the club where he first kicked a ball. When Radio MARCA Malaga handed him their silver badge in 2022, he did not hide his sentiment.
“I’d play for Malaga in the future. It’s the club of my land and it would mean a lot to me,” he said at the time. “I’m from Malaga and I’m a Malaga fan. I hope they’re in the top flight soon. To face them, or to play here one day – who wouldn’t want to play for their home town team?”
Huijsen’s case is, if anything, even more unusual. Born in the Netherlands, he was raised in Marbella and has always made clear he feels malagueño. He joined Malaga at the age of 10 and left in 2021, but he has been seen in the blue-and-white shirt at Malaga games in recent seasons and was even in the dressing room celebrating a 3-0 win over Deportivo last campaign as though he were still on the books.
For Malaga, meanwhile, this is a return to one of world football’s great stages after many years away. Juanfran Funes takes his side to the Bernabeu with nothing to lose and an occasion to enjoy.
A big week either side of Sunday
Thursday also brought European clarity. Madrid discovered their eight Champions League league-phase opponents in the Monaco draw: Inter, PSV, RB Leipzig and LASK at the Bernabeu, with Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens on the road. The full calendar is expected over the weekend.
Emilio Butragueño, the club’s Director of Institutional Relations, set the target publicly after the draw. Speaking to Realmadrid TV, he said the new format means “every match is practically a final, because the objective is to finish in the top eight” – and that avoiding the extra knockout round matters as much for the calendar as for the confidence.
Before any of that, though, there is a league game to win and a squad to patch up. Sunday at the Bernabeu should be a comfortable afternoon on paper. For two Madrid players, it will not feel routine at all.
