Real Madrid have enjoyed a resurgence in recent weeks following some tactical tweaks from Jose Mourinho.
It all started with the remarkable comeback in Rome, where Los Blancos came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3 in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Portuguese tactician made important changes to his line-up from that point onwards, moving Federico Valverde to right-back and bringing Bernardo Silva into midfield.
However, not everyone is convinced by the Portuguese manager's decisions. Former Los Blancos striker Poli Rincon has revealed that he remains unconvinced.
During an appearance on Ruben Martin's YouTube channel, Rincon argued that Mourinho took too long to identify the tactical shortcomings.
"Jose Mourinho didn't want to play Bernardo Silva in central midfield, and he ended up using that lineup in El Clasico because he had no other choice,"Rincon claimed (h/t Defensa Central ).
Bernardo Silva has proved to be a transformative inclusion in Real Madrid's midfield. (Picture credit: Real Madrid website)
"The best thing the coach has done is correct his mistakes, because he got things wrong in the opening matches of the season."
The former Madrid striker was highly critical of the partnership between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni.
"The manager made many mistakes from the beginning of the season until he realised the reality: Vinicius cannot be a starter, and Fede Valverde and Tchouameni cannot play together in the double pivot,"he explained.
Rincon believes Mourinho should set his team up to be more attacking and should have trusted Madrid's technically gifted players earlier.
"Jose Mourinho has players capable of playing football, not just defending and sitting deep. He should have dropped Vinicius and played Diomande from the beginning. And if he also plays Carlos Espi, even better," he added.
His criticism comes after Mourinho won his last six games with Real Madrid, including a 2-1 away win at the Spotify Camp Nou .
Mourinho deserves massive credit for his tactical adaptations. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
While it is true that the team have looked much better since Bernardo Silva came into midfield , it is not true that Mourinho took too long to recognise this.
It is still very early in the season, and the Portuguese manager has made the changes before the most important part of the campaign begins.
If anything, Mourinho deserves credit for accepting that something was not working and adapting his tactics accordingly.
Rincon may not be Mourinho's biggest fan, but Madrid's resurgence is completely down to his methods, and the important thing is that the results have started to come.
