DERMOT CORRIGAN: United beware as Real believe again

Just a week ago Real Madrid’s season — and Jose Mourinho’s term at the club — seemed on the verge of petering out with a whimper.

Mourinho’s side were 16 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga. He had fought publicly with half his squad, including captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, and even talismanic attacker Cristiano Ronaldo. There were also serious injury problems, the worst being longtime keeper Casillas’s broken hand.

The 1-1 against Manchester United in their Champions League last 16 first leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 11 fed these concerns. United had an away goal through Danny Welbeck’s header. More worryingly, Madrid’s players had looked painfully short on ideas and belief when labouring to break down a defence which has often looked porous in the Premier League.