Mourinho sticks with the same lineup that thrashed Rayo, banks on more minutes for Tchouameni against Elche

Sticking with the same lineup when something is working isn't laziness, it's common sense. That must have been the thinking behind José Mourinho's decision to keep the exact same squad that thrashed Rayo Vallecano 4-1 over the weekend for the midweek clash against Elche. Not a single change, not a single surprise. The list is identical, with Kylian Mbappé once again leading the line after his brace against Rayo.

The absences remain the same too, which is the less encouraging part of the news. Ferland Mendy, Éder Militao and Rodrygo Goes are still unavailable. There is one hopeful sign: the Brazilian center back was already back on the grass at Valdebebas this Monday for training, though the club has made clear that he and the other two injured players remain some way off returning to a matchday squad. No rush, in other words. One academy name does appear on the list, Sergio Mestre, the only youth product included to face the side from Elche.

Tchouameni, building up minutes gradually

If there's one story lifting spirits inside the Real Madrid locker room, it's Aurelien Tchouameni's comeback. The Frenchman returned to a Champions League squad against Inter Milan after overcoming an injury that had lingered since the World Cup, and has since been picking up minutes little by little: a few against the Italians and a bit more at the close of the game against Rayo. The plan for Elche is clear: keep building along that same path.

I think more minutes, yes. Definitely more minutes than against Inter, which was 10 or 15 and we were all a bit unsure, we could even have gone to 20 or 25. I'd say in the next few games there will probably be more, he's getting better and better, stronger and stronger, more and more confident. Tomorrow he'll surely play at some point, but I'm not in a position to say how long.José Mourinho

The plan against injuries

With the team playing three matches in barely seven days, the Portuguese coach used the pre-match press conference to explain how the club works to minimize physical risk. He didn't talk about magic formulas, but about a whole operation involving many people behind the scenes: a sports science department, individual reinforcement work, early warning signs and a medical staff fully immersed in the day to day.

When they start training on the pitch today you see them go out, but they've already put in 35 minutes of work inside if there's a gym session. We're working well and we're getting positive numbers so far, and common sense too, trust in the players matters a lot.José Mourinho

Mourinho also offered a very specific example to explain where the line sits between pushing players and protecting them. He recalled Federico Valverde's withdrawal in the last match, when the Uruguayan felt a slight knock.

As the coach explained it, if the score had been tight, the player probably would have stayed on the field. But with the result already settled, the decision was to protect him. Even so, he admitted that not even the best plan in the world guarantees anything completely, because traumatic injuries, he said, also depend on a factor no coaching staff can control: luck.