Welcome to another edition of Inside Real Madrid, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.

Every week, we will bring you our latest information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.

What’s the mood around Real Madrid right now?

With the international break came a time to take stock. Despite the disappointing heavy defeat by Atletico Madrid in the city derby with Diego Simeone’s side on September 27, there is a positive mood around the club.

The fact that Barcelona slipped to a 4-1 loss at Sevilla in their final game before the pause means Madrid have a two-point lead at the top of La Liga. That, added to their two wins from two in the Champions League so far, has led to a feeling of good work being done.

But still, sources around Madrid’s training ground — who preferred to speak anonymously as they did not have permission to comment — say further time is needed to fully develop the ideas brought in by Xabi Alonso this season.

Madrid next play on Sunday, away to Getafe, before hosting Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday and Barca in El Clasico on the following Sunday (October 26).

A lot can still happen before that key tie (Barca and Madrid look like being the only teams capable of contesting the Spanish league title this term, with Atletico eight points behind their neighbours already), but there is optimism around the club.

What’s the injury list looking like before El Clasico?

Several players have suffered injury problems recently, but right now only two have been categorically ruled out of the home La Liga game with Barca: Antonio Rudiger (who suffered a thigh injury in September) and Ferland Mendy (who has been out since April, also with a thigh injury).

There is optimism among Madrid’s medical staff that both Dani Carvajal, who has been out since suffering a calf problem in the Atletico defeat, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who injured his hamstring against Marseille on September 16, might recover in time to be selected.

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe and Franco Mastantuono joined France and Argentina respectively with injuries that eventually forced them to return after the first matches of this international break.

After undergoing tests and taking a few days off, Mbappe seems to have recovered from an ankle problem and is expected to play against Getafe. Mastantuono, suffering from a muscle strain, did not play with Argentina, and more about his state will be known at the start of this week. It has been ruled out that he has anything serious.

Dean Huijsen suffered a calf injury that meant he left the Spain camp and it is expected he will miss the Getafe match. But Madrid are optimistic that he will be fit for El Clasico, and they will try to get him ready for the Champions League match against Juventus.

Elsewhere, it was welcomed that Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Andriy Lunin were not called up for international duty and could rest instead, with Aurelien Tchouameni unavailable to France because of suspension.

Jude Bellingham was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad (Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)

How did Madrid’s internationals perform?

Rodrygo, who had not scored since March 4 for Madrid, shone with a brace in Brazil’s 5-0 win over South Korea on Friday. Vinicius Junior provided an assist for his team-mate and also found the net himself. Brazil also play Japan on Tuesday, with ex-Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti now in charge. If the duo return to Spain in top form, it would be considered another service from their Italian former coach.

Mbappe got the opener in France’s 3-0 home win against Azerbaijan on Friday and is now five goals away from surpassing Olivier Giroud (57 goals) as France’s record goalscorer.

Mbappe celebrating his goal against Azerbaijan at the Parc des Princes (Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Arda Guler shone with a goal and two assists in Turkey’s 6-1 win over Bulgaria on Saturday, and Gonzalo Garcia scored and provided an assist before half-time for Spain’s under-21s in Friday’s 4-1 win over Norway.

David Alaba scored in Austria’s 10-0 win over San Marino on Thursday, and also started Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Romania. The 33-year-old defender has now accumulated 401 minutes between club (100 in three games) and country (301 in four appearances) since returning from his serious knee problems.

How do Madrid feel about Villarreal vs Barcelona being moved to Miami?

Madrid have always stated publicly (they issued a statement on the matter on August 12) and privately that they are against this match being played in Miami.

They believe that the change of venue alters the nature of the competition, as Villarreal will not play one of their home matches at their stadium and Barcelona will not have to visit their La Ceramica ground.

In addition, they also have complaints that the opinions of all La Liga clubs were not taken into account and that there was a lack of communication during the process.

What might we have missed last week? 

There has been a significant departure from the academy’s board. Abian Perdomo, who joined the club in 2012 and has held various roles in his 13 years’ service, is no longer responsible for the training and methodology department.

Highly regarded internally, Perdomo is in advanced talks with the Moroccan FA to join the committee of experts for the development of their youth teams.

This is another key move in the ‘battle’ between Spain and Morocco for talent, which has been very visible in recent years with the recruitment of players who could have played for either country, such as Lamine Yamal (Spain), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), and Brahim Diaz (Morocco).