The last time Real stayed winless after two La Liga matches was in the 2001-02 season. -Photo by AP

MADRID: An angry Jose Mourinho gave his Real Madrid players a rare public tongue lashing after they squandered the lead and slumped to a 2-1 defeat at city neighbours Getafe in La Liga on Sunday.

The shock reverse ended the Spanish champions' unbeaten run of 24 league matches, their longest in 15 years, and was the first time they had lost in La Liga after leading at half time in more than five years.

Coming after last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Valencia, it also left them five points behind Barcelona after two matches, a significant gap in a competition where the arch rivals often go toe to toe until the season finale.

“Real was very bad, an unacceptable match,” a grim-faced Mourinho told a news conference while refusing to single out any player in particular for criticism.

“The only message I want you to take away tonight is that it was a deserved defeat for us,” he told reporters.

“This was a match in which the defeat was absolutely deserved. More than two matches with just one point it was a horrible match.”

Getafe's equaliser just after halftime, when Juan Valera slipped marker Sergio Ramos and nodded past Iker Casillas from a free kick, would have particularly irked Mourinho given the amount of work the players have been doing on dead ball situations in training.

They also conceded a header in similar circumstances when leading 1-0 against Valencia. “We have been doing more work than ever on dead ball situations and there is nothing more we can do,” Mourinho said.

“We cannot work any harder on organisation,” added the Portuguese.

“That goal and the one we conceded against Valencia were two ridiculous goals.”

The last time Real stayed winless after two La Liga matches was in the 2001-02 season. They finished third in La Liga and lost the King's Cup final to Deportivo Coruna but won the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Opinion

Editorial

Budget presser
14 Jun, 2026

Budget presser

OFFICIAL post-budget media briefings in Pakistan are carefully choreographed affairs, full of reassuring phrases ...
Muharram precautions
14 Jun, 2026

Muharram precautions

WITH Muharram due to start next week, the authorities have already begun annual exercises to ensure that the ...
Blood bequests
14 Jun, 2026

Blood bequests

WORLD Blood Donor Day offers a moment of “gratitude, advocacy and renewed commitment” for thalassaemia patients...
Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...