Football Daily | Madrid endure an awkward night after T-shirt trouble and Elche scare

Anxious to sample some traditional Spanish culture while taking in a La Liga match years ago, Football Daily and some friends decamped to Gran Alicant. As we prepared to leave a quaint bodega (the Dick Turpin), where we’d been sampling the local hooch (Guinness), to travel to the nearby stadium, an elderly local resident with an unmistakable mackem accent informed us that the Elche home game to which we were heading was not being played until the following evening. It had fallen victim to Spanish TV’s infuriating habit of rescheduling random top-flight matches with little or no notice or consideration for Johnny-come-latelys who might have travelled from afar to watch them. We never did get to see Elche play in the flesh but did get to watch the current La Liga basement-dwellers give José Mourinho an almighty fright on TV on Tuesday night, as they went this close to snatching a point from Real Madrid.

Allowed to spend 14 times more on players and coaching staff than their hosts at the Estadio Martínez Valero under La Liga rules, it was no surprise to see Real Madrid go 2-0 up as they appeared to be cruising towards a routine rout of their lowly opposition. However, a succession of missed chances (hello, Vinícius Júnior) followed by second-half sucker punches from Abiel Osorio and Fer Niño meant Mourinho was sweating as Elche approached the final seven minutes on the front foot, looking for an unlikely winner. Sadly, there was no fairytale and Carlos Espí popped up with a late, late winner to break Elche hearts and dig his side out of one of several holes they have already found themselves in this season. While a balmy Tuesday night in Elche may not be the most glamorous of environments, not for the first, second, third, fourth or even 534th time in their history, Madrid found a way.

“Three points and nothing more,” harrumphed Mourinho in his post-match interview. “The problem seems obvious to me. It’s harder to know why but it’s easier to understand that there are matches that seem over but in the end, aren’t. Matches where we have three, four, five chances to finish them but don’t. After failing to do so, it feels like we go from ease to losing control. With the changes I made in the end, I took all the risks. We won but I could have lost.” Modest to a T, as ever, Mourinho will be hoping for a better performance from his team when they make the short trip to the Wanda Metropolitano to face their city rivals Atlético on Sunday (or Saturday, depending on the whims of broadcasters) before the international break.

While the out-of-sorts Vinícius Jr did little on Tuesday night beyond convince Arsenal fans they may have dodged a very expensive summer bullet, he was one of three Madrid stars who refused to show off T-shirts showing solidarity with the people of Ceuta that were handed to both sets of players as they made their way out on to the pitch before kick-off. Along with Kylian Mbappé and Ibrahima Konaté, Vinícius Jr chose not to show the slogan “Todos somos caballas” (“We are all mackerels”), in support of the Spanish exclave which was overwhelmed by the arrival of 80,000 migrants, mostly from Morocco, in recent months. Subsequently lambasted in some quarters for being too supportive of the migrants and not supportive enough of the citizens of Ceuta, it was an awkward situation where the Madrid players were put on the spot and simply couldn’t do right for doing wrong.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Join Niall McVeigh at 8pm (BST) for a red-hot Bigger Vase clockwatch, while Will Unwin will be on deck at the same time for Rumblews Cup goal updates. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I texted a friend after the match and I just wrote, ‘I regret that I didn’t eat some grass after the match to keep something from this in my body forever’. That was the feeling. That was the moment” – as part of the FA’s forthcoming feature ‘Reflections: England’s World Cup Journey’, Thomas Tuchel was recently interviewed by Daniel Sturridge about the aftermath of England’s famous 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca, and made a bizarre admission about his eating habits while showing an alarming misunderstanding of the body’s digestive system.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

I almost wish I was a West Ham fan. As an eternally suffering Spurs supporter, I find myself looking enviously towards the London Stadium these days. The Hammers are top of the table, banging in goal after goal (already 20 more than Spurs’ tally in the league). They score even when they lose and seem to have bought a proper No 9. My Spurs, meanwhile, continue the tradition of the last two years in style, sitting comfortably in 17th with 1,047 wingers on contract, and getting knocked out of one of the competitions they could ‘conceivably’ have won, the only competition they seem to be able to score goals in as well. In hindsight, West Ham made the right choice to go down. Hammers fans, you are welcome!” – Yannick Woudstra (and no others).

Hugh Fordham’s idea [Tuesday’s Football Daily letters] has some merit. But it reminded me of a pithy comment by Bill Nicholson. ‘Do you think he was interfering with play?’, he was asked. Nicholson responded: “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?!’” – Harry McDonald.

In support of Hugh Fordham’s suggestion, I remember discussing the idea of interfering with play while on a training course for referees back in the 1960s. We were told that unless someone was ‘lying injured near the corner flag’ any player should be treated as being involved in play. Not a lot of room for subjectivity in those days. And obviously no thought of stopping play for the hypothetical injured player!” – Trevor Field.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day goes to … Harry McDonald. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here. 

 THERE’S ALWAYS A BIGGER MISTAKE

After profiting from a VAR blunder in the Manchester derby, Enzo Maresca has gone on the offensive, claiming that City are still awaiting an apology for an apparently dodgy goal that helped United in the same fixture three years ago. City lost at Old Trafford in 2023 after Bruno Fernandes equalised despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position. “Sometimes it happens for you, sometimes it happens against you. It’s football,” parped Maresca, in comments eerily similar to the ones we used to hear in a blissful pre-VAR world.

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer for English football, has described the law around accidental handball as “a bit of a nonsense” and called for its reform to stop referees being drawn into “ridiculous situations”.

It is Sunderland’s first European match for 53 years and Granit Xhaka plans to give the Stadium of Light a whole new meaning as they welcome AZ Alkmaar in Bigger Vase. “The stadium will be on fire,” said Sunderland’s captain, who we hope was talking figuratively. “And I want to see our players on fire, on and off the ball.”

Good news for the Buenos Aires brand of Kleenex: Lionel Messi will make a farewell ⁠appearance in a friendly against Benin in October after his international retirement.

Serie A side Bologna have hoofed ⁠Domenico Tedesco after just four matches in charge, with former Fiorentina and Atalanta coach Raffaele Palladino jumping into the still-warm void in the dugout.

Aberdeen have appointed Adrian Bevington as their new chief suit. The former FA communications head-honcho will start in his role immediately.

Milk Cup updates! Max Dowman starred as Arsenal swatted aside Ipswich, while Oscar Bobb scored the winning goal for Fulham at West Ham.

STILL WANT MORE?

Coventry have no points, Spurs have no goals and Villa have dipped again. But what does a bad start really mean? Opta’s David Segar has the answers.

Andy Hunter spoke with Lewis Koumas after the young Liverpool forward’s player-of-the-match award in the 3-1 Fizzy Cup win over Spurs. “You never know when your last time on the pitch for Liverpool is going to be,” he roared. “I just try to leave everything out there every time.”

Iranian football has returned in the shadow of war and with a row over last league title. John Duerden has the latest.

All aboard the hype train! Leander Schaerlaeckens on whether 16-year-old Philadelphia Union wonderkid Cavan Sullivan is the real deal.

Glory at 11,000ft: Cusco’s Cienciano aim to bring Peru continental success once again, writes Justo Robles.

And when did football fans first start wearing replica kits? Has any lineup in history had three players with 50 international goals to their name? These questions (and more) are answered in this week’s Knowledge.

MEMORY LANE

It’s Milan v Benfica in Bigger Vase later, a repeat of the 1963 Big Cup final, which was the first to not feature a Spanish team – Real Madrid had contested six of the previous seven finals while Barcelona represented Spain in the 1961 final. Eusébio opened the scoring for the Portuguese at Wembley but two goals from José Altafini earned Milan their first ever European crown. Altafini was prolific for the Rossoneri and remains the joint-fourth highest scorer in Serie A history. The legendary forward won the World Cup with Brazil in 1958, represented Italy at the World Cup in 1962 and later, as a pundit, coined the phrase ‘Golazo’, which is widely used today.