Real Madrid reportedly usually gather at the training ground the night before a game, however, this only happens in the most important games of the season, like the previous game against Manchester City at the Bernabeu and now the Madrid derby, they usually do not do this in the league or the King's Cup.

The coaching staff will not often gather players together for no reason, and will only do so in very important situations. Throughout the season, the players have been traveling all over the place, so they attach more importance to the players' ability to maximize the time with their families. This time against Atletico Madrid, they chose to gather together.

The players' families also understood this and they wanted the players to play in the best condition, so they spent the night before the game in a designated room in Valdebebas.

Valverde explained the extra rest afforded by being away from home on match eve in a press conference: "I stay away from the children because it is exhausting to play with them 24 hours a day. Spending the night at the training base, we can take advantage of the quietness of the room, which is very helpful at a team level."

Real Madrid usually gathers players for dinner around 20:30 the night before the game, and all the players gather together and communicate. When there are other Champions League games, they will watch them together, such as Liverpool vs. Paris.

Afterwards, Real Madrid's technical team usually continues to communicate for a while, while the players quickly return to their respective rooms, where they use the time to make video calls with their families and loved ones and play Spanish checkers, a pastime that fascinates them.

In the Real Madrid team, the players are very fascinated by the game and they compete fiercely. According to sources in the locker room, Mbappe is one of the players who is most obsessed with Spanish checkers.