Mourinho's magic triangle

Real Madrid is heading back to the Mestalla following Sunday's masterclass in the league, and it is doing so spearheaded by the trio that so thrilled 'Los Blancos' fans at the weekend. If there is one thing that characterises Real under Mou it is the team's directness and bite going forward. This reputation has largely been fashioned thanks to the work of its three-man juggernaut, with Özil pulling the strings in the middle and Cristiano and Di María running rampant on the flanks.

The team's slump this campaign is more easily understood in light of the Argentine's downturn in form, Cristiano's early-season ups and downs and the German's inconsistency.

When the trio is at full throttle, like at the Mestalla, Real is unstoppable, irrespective of who is chosen to lead the line in front of them – while Higuaín is a better target man, Benzema links up more fluently with the three support acts around him. Mou may have had his doubts up front, but if and when firing on all cylinders, the trio is very much the Portuguese coach's 'holy trinity'.

Significantly, by and large all five first-half goals at the Mestalla on Sunday can be credited to the trio; indeed, the three scored, set up and/or got the move going for each and every one of them.