Jose Mourinho identifies his best defensive line at Real Madrid

According to AS, Jose Mourinho has already settled on his preferred defensive line at Real Madrid only two games into the 2026/27 season.

The combination of Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, and Marc Cucurella – three new arrivals and another from last summer, seem to be the manager’s gala backline moving forward this season.

Mourinho started the midweek game against Real Sociedad with three of the aforementioned four players, with Alvaro Carreras getting the nod at left-back, only to be replaced by Cucurella at half-time.

While Mourinho suggested that the substitution was due to Carreras picking up a yellow card in the first half, the change nevertheless offered a glimpse of a back four that could see relatively few changes throughout the season.

Antonio Rudiger could still provide an alternative to Konate or Huijsen before Eder Militao at centre-back.

But these four defenders increasingly look like the unit that will start the most important matches.

Dumfries overtakes Trent at right-back. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Dumfries is accustomed to playing in a five-man defence but has now moved ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold as the undisputed right-back.

With Cucurella occupying the left, Real Madrid can push the defensive line higher and defend, attack and press further up the pitch.

That, in turn, gives the midfielders and forwards the platform to execute the high press Mourinho wants to establish.

The statistics from the match were revealing. According to Opta, Dumfries completed 15 passes in the final third, the fifth-highest total in the game, behind Arda Guler (25), Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde (22 each), and Bernardo Silva (17).

A solid start to life at Madrid for Konate. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Konate won the most tackles, with two, matching Cucurella’s total. Huijsen completed the most passes, finding a teammate 69 times from 72 attempts, an impressive 95.8% completion rate.

Carreras also made his mark before being substituted, recovering four balls, the same number as Huijsen.

Overall, Real Madrid’s defence recovered 15 balls, with seven of them coming in Real Sociedad’s half. Defensively, they allowed Thibaut Courtois to face only three shots, the same number he faced against Espanyol.

This defensive structure should continue to develop over the coming fixtures before the international break: Malaga, Real Betis, the Champions League opener, Rayo and Elche, followed by the derby against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.

There is still plenty of work to do, but the foundations are already visible. A new defence is beginning to take shape at the Bernabeu, and Mourinho hopes it will become a better defence as the season progresses.