Jose Mourinho staged one of football's more theatrical post-match press conferences on Sunday, holding up printed photographs of two tackles as he launched a withering attack on referee Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias following Real Madrid's 2-1 La Liga defeat to Atletico Madrid.

"We could skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here," Mourinho said, brandishing the images at the assembled media in what became a near five-minute tirade. "Those were two clear red cards."

The incidents Mourinho pinpointed

The first photograph showed Atletico defender Cristian Romero stamping on the knee of Jude Bellingham in the first half. Referee Ortiz Arias, after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, chose to rescind a yellow card that had been shown to Bellingham and instead booked Romero — a decision Mourinho insisted should have been a red card.

The second image concerned a challenge by Lee Kang-in on Federico Valverde, in which Valverde was struck on the left ankle by Lee's studs. Mourinho complained that Ortiz Arias, who was close to the incident, neither showed a card nor was alerted to act by his assistant Trujillo Suárez.

"If justice had been done," Mourinho argued, "we can imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like."

How the match unfolded

Atletico took control of the contest in the second half after Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was dismissed for hauling down Giuliano Simeone inside the area as the last man. Alejandro Grimaldo converted the resulting penalty to give the hosts the lead.

Jonathan David extended Atletico's advantage six minutes later, with Antonio Rudiger pulling one back for Real Madrid late on with a header from a free-kick. The result leaves Real Madrid six points behind Barcelona in La Liga.

Mourinho's sharpest words

The Real Madrid manager reserved particular criticism for those who assigned Ortiz Arias to the fixture, describing the 41-year-old as lacking international experience. "It's certainly not because he's a great referee," Mourinho said, adding that the official had failed to "cope with the pressure" of a Madrid derby — what Mourinho colourfully called "80s-style pressure."

When pressed on the title gap to Barcelona, Mourinho was pointed: "If they just leave us in peace and let us compete on a level playing field with everyone else, we've still got a long way to go. I don't want to go so far as to say this was set up... I want to believe that they simply made a mistake."

Real Madrid's official response

The club itself amplified Mourinho's grievances, publishing a post-match report that described the defeat as "marked by poor officiating" and outlined each disputed decision in detail. Real Madrid stated that both the Romero and Lee Kang-in incidents "shaped the match, which was decided in the second half in favour of Atletico."