The narrative after the Madrid derby just before the international break was one centred around the performance of the referee and not of either of the teams that played on the night.

There is no doubt that the match official made calls which directly affected Real Madrid’s outcome and may even have cost Los Blancos the game on the night.

Yet, one cannot defend the team as they played well until they went a man down. The fact of the matter remains that they were second-best for most of the game and did not look interested in attacking in the slightest.

After the game, Jose Mourinho came out to face the media with printouts of the incidents where decisions went against his side and turned the narrative towards the refereeing.

There is, however, a need for serious introspection from Real Madrid’s perspective as well.

Speaking to the media via AS while on international duty, Atletico Madrid star Alex Baena was asked about the aftermath of the Madrid derby, particularly Jose Mourinho’s fiery post-game press conference.

Baena was critical of Mourinho’s reaction. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

The player made a strong statement in that regard, calling out the Real Madrid manager for making a big fuss out of the situation.