Matches
Bernardo, Guler start in a 4-2-3-1: How Real Madrid can line up against Real Betis
Real Madrid will be eager to move to the top of the La Liga standings as they get set to take on Real Betis in a Matchday 4 fixture in La Liga tonight.
Under new manager Jose Mourinho, the Merengues have made a strong start to the season, winning three in three, with their latest match ending in a 4-0 triumph against Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The fact that superstars like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Jr. have made strong starts to the season, while new signings Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate have also made positive impact bodes well for Los Blancos.
The aim will be to secure their fourth victory in a row and continue building the momentum especially with the UEFA Champions League opener against Inter Milan coming up next.
Going into the game, though, Real Madrid will once again be without as many as seven players as Aurelien Tchouameni, Endrick, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo Goes, Thiago Pitarch, and Raul Asencio remain unavailable.
New teenage signing Sergio Martinez has been named in the squad and could be in line for his debut at Estadio de La Cartuja tonight.
Having made some rotations to the starting XI last time out against Malaga, here’s how Mourinho could set his Real Madrid team up tonight.
Defence
Thibaut Courtois is a confirmed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will be looking for his second clean sheet of the new campaign.
As for the defensive line, there is likely to be only one change with Ibrahima Konate coming back into the team in place of Antonio Rudiger, who made his first start of the season vs Malaga.
Dean Huijsen has been a constant fixture at the heart of the defence so far and that is unlikely to change.
At right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold appears set to retain his place after an impressive display in his first start of the season last weekend. It means, new signing Denzel Dumfries will remain on the bench. Marc Cucurella, meanwhile, should start again on the left side.
Midfield
Bernardo Silva was one of the players that Mourinho rotated against Malaga, and is expected to return to the lineup tonight against Real Betis.
The Portuguese international has done fairly well in his new role as part of the double pivot alongside Federico Valverde, who will retain his place in the team.
It would mean Eduardo Camavinga misses out after having a decent game on his first start of the season last weekend.
Jude Bellingham has been in spectacular form since the start of the season, already racking up two goals and two assists from three games. Back in his preferred role as an attacking midfielder, he will start there again tonight.
Attack
Moving into the attacking unit, Mourinho is expected to make one key change as Arda Guler should replace Brahim Diaz on the right flank after scoring Real Madrid’s fourth goal against Malaga coming on as a substitute.
What it also means is that blockbuster summer signing Yan Diomande will have to wait for his first start for Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappe has already scored four goals in three games, making a blistering start to the season and will be aiming to build on that as he chases a hat-trick of Pichichi Trophies.
Rounding off the attacking trident will be superstar Vinicius Jr., who will also be hoping to get among the goals.
Features
Clean sheet at last, Vinicius’ moment of madness | Three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal
Real Madrid took all three points against Villarreal on Saturday night to get back on track after the international break, and thus ensured they did not continue sinking after the defeat at the Madrid derby.
Jose Mourinho made some bold decisions in his starting XI as he benched Vinicius Jr., playing Yan Diomande on the left-flank and Arda Guler on the right flank.
The dynamics worked out decently well, and it was eventually the new record signing who scored for the club to hand them the lead and the win.
Compared to performances before the international break, there was an improvement in terms of Real Madrid’s level, but the team are still far off from where they must be to make a strong case to be title contenders.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal.
The struggle continues
All of Real Madrid’s season so far has been of struggles and difficult wins, and the same theme continued last night as the team returned from the international break.
Los Blancos have failed to look convincing for a long time now, and they did not dominate Villarreal in any capacity last night as well.
Continuing with the same theme of winning by narrow margins and scraping past the finish line, they registered yet another 1-0 win that did not leave anyone convinced.
Yan Diomande’s goal was the only positive takeaway from the night, and even that was made possible only after a narrow offside decision went in their favor. With the firepower they have, struggling to create chances to such an extent seems inexcusable.
With a difficult month ahead, last night’s game did not give fans any reason to believe matters have changed after the international break. At this rate, the coming month could be a bleak one for Los Blancos.
Vinicius’ moment of madness
Of all the events that transpired at the Santiago Bernabeu last night, the most memorable one was the incident involving Vinicius Jr.’s goal, and embarrassingly so.
Having seemingly scored a great goal ten minutes after Diomande’s opener, the Brazilian star was on his way to celebrate the achievement, but what unfolded thereafter was embarrassing.
The VAR found an incident of Vinicius pulling the hair of a Villarreal player for no apparent reason in the build-up to the goal, and at this point there can be no arguments defending the player’s behavior.
As one of the biggest names of one of Europe’s biggest clubs, there has to be a sense of responsibility in one’s role – something Vinicius simply does not seem to have. What he did last night was simply inexcusable.
A lot can be said about VAR’s selective interference, but what cannot be argued is that what Vinicius did last night was a clear red card offense.
He will now miss El Clasico and will serve at least a two-game suspension. Whether that is a boon or a bane for Real Madrid, at this point, remains unknown and only time will tell.
A clean sheet at last
Ahead of last night’s win over Villarreal, Real Madrid had only overseen one clean sheet in eight games across competitions.
In that sense, simply keeping the opposition from scoring last night was an achievement in itself for Los Blancos, and it could not have come at a better time.
Real Madrid entered the game without many of their regular defenders available, especially with Dean Huijsen suspended and Eder Militao and Raul Asencio out through injury.
Ibrahima Konate and Antonio Rudiger, thus, started in central defense on the night and both did phenomenally well for Los Blancos. They were joined by Alvaro Carreras and Trent Alexander-Arnold, both of whom complemented the duo well.
The right-back was a relatively weak link defensively, but Konate and Rudiger were spot-on with their reading of the game to keep the Villarreal attack from scoring. They both did eventually pick up yellow cards, but Villarreal finished the game without a single big chance created.
Finding defensive stability, which is the cornerstone of Mourinho’s project, is massive for the manager, and he will be pleased to have a new working formula.
What happens after Huijsen’s return, however, remains to be seen, as the manager may well like to hand the new duo some more chances to prove their consistency.
