Real Madrid match the goalscoring pace of record-breaking 2011/12 season under Mourinho

Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid have made a solid start to the 2026/27 season but are not yet an infallible machine.

At times they overwhelm opponents and score goals for fun, while at others they take their foot off the accelerator.

Against Rayo Vallecano, for example, they produced 45 outstanding minutes before spending another 25 under greater pressure and with less intensity.

Setting good pace

Their latest victory this past weekend against Rayo took their tally to 16 goals in six matches across all competitions – a figure reached only three times in the past decade, as highlighted by AS.

The last team to better it was the 2016/17 side, who had scored 17 at the same stage.

More remarkably, the last time Real Madrid started a season with a similar scoring rate at home was 2011/12 – during Mourinho’s first tenure at the club. That team had scored 15 goals in their opening six home games.

That was the famous record-breaking La Liga season, which ended with Real Madrid collecting 100 points and scoring 121 goals.

Real Madrid have scored 16 goals this season. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

The current side are matching that pace, although Mourinho knows that an impressive start means little unless it ends with silverware. Even so, the early results are stronger than those recorded by that historic team.

The 2011/12 campaign began with a draw against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, followed by a 1-0 defeat to Levante.

This time, Real Madrid have five wins from six, with their only setback coming against Real Betis, where they lost 1-0.

That defeat owed much to the heroics of goalkeeper Alvaro Valles and the Merengues’ failure to take their chances, particularly Kylian Mbappe’s late penalty, which could have rescued a point.

Real Madrid are leaving goals on the table

However, what cannot be ignored is the fact that Real Madrid have not been effective enough in finding the back of the net.

Real Madrid produced 3.16 xG against Real Betis but failed to score, while their overall xG figures show just how many opportunities they have been wasting.

According to data provided by BeSoccer Pro to AS, Real Madrid have the worst xG balance in La Liga by some distance.

Mourinho not worried about the wasted chances. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

They have scored 14 league goals but, based on the quality of their chances, should have scored another 5.92.

In other words, Real Madrid could already be approaching 20 league goals if their finishing had matched the chances they have created.

The comparison with Barcelona is particularly striking. Hansi Flick’s side have scored 21 goals from 96 shots, including 42 on target, while Mourinho’s team have needed 104 shots and 46 efforts on target to score seven fewer goals.

That represents a conversion rate of 13.5% for Real Madrid compared with 21.9% for the Blaugrana.

Mourinho refuses to make a problem of the misses

For Mourinho, however, the figures are more encouraging than concerning.

“We’re scoring a lot, but we’re also missing so many chances,” he said after the 4-1 win over Rayo.

“I told my people that one day a team will pay for all those missed chances. One day we’re going to score six or seven.”

The Portuguese sees the finishing problems as temporary rather than something that needs to become a major concern.

As per the report, his message is simple: more composure, more patience and more calm in front of goal.