According to "Mundo Deportivo", in a post-match press conference following Real Madrid's victory over Rayo Vallecano, manager Jose Mourinho candidly acknowledged that he expected his team to play only a "45-minute match" because Real Madrid "lacked the physical and mental strength to sustain it in the second half". This trend of declining performance in the second half has repeated throughout the season, and Bernabéu fans have once again expressed their dissatisfaction with jeers.

So far this season, Real Madrid has played only two matches where the second-half performance was better than the first half: an away trip to Espanyol, 1-1 at halftime, ultimately winning 2-1; and at home against Real Sociedad, also 1-1 at halftime, ultimately winning 4-1. In the away match against Espanyol, Real Madrid started very well, with Bellingham scoring in the 9th minute. This is exactly the style Mourinho has always valued. After beating Rayo Vallecano, he mentioned once more: "Our playing style is to start well and secure victory as early as possible." However, Espanyol equalized before the end of the first half, and Real Madrid nearly secured the win thanks to a strong second-half performance.

In the home match against Real Sociedad at Bernabéu, Real Madrid scored first again, this time through Mbappé. However, their opponents equalized just 4 minutes later, before the end of the first half. In the second half, Mbappé scored a hat-trick and, alongside Vinícius, helped the team secure 3 points. After this match, Real Madrid played 4 more games, and in all 4 of these matches, the second-half performance was worse than the first half.

The match against Málaga was relatively good, with the team leading 3-0 in the first 30 minutes. The team overall eased off in the second half, but still extended their lead, ultimately winning 4-0.

However, in an away trip to Benito Villamarín against Betis, Mourinho's team could only manage a 0-0 draw in the first half despite having opportunities to take the lead. As a result, they conceded a goal in the closing minutes from Juanmi and lost the match. The other two matches, against Inter Milan (2-0 at halftime, 2-1 full time) and against Rayo Vallecano (3-0 at halftime, 4-1 full time), were both won, and the problem was not fatal, but Real Madrid fans were dissatisfied. Every time they saw the team slow down and lose control of the game, the home fans would jeer the side.

Bernabéu fans are unaccustomed to seeing their team build a large lead early on and then watch their performance decline in the second half. Opta statistics show that throughout last season's La Liga, Real Madrid scored only once in the first half twice. This season, Real Madrid has already matched that total.

Mourinho said: "In my opinion, today's match was only played well for 45 minutes, that's it. I know the physical and mental condition of the team, and they cannot maintain the intensity of the first half in the second half, they simply cannot." However, so far, Real Madrid fans are unwilling to watch only one half of good football.

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