Matches
Carvajal, Alaba start in a 4-3-3 – How Real Madrid can line up against Athletic Club
It has not been the season Real Madrid dreamed of, but the club now has one final opportunity to leave a better impression before attention fully turns towards a new era under Jose Mourinho.
Saturday night’s clash against Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabeu will officially bring the curtain down on a frustrating 2025/26 campaign for Los Blancos.
After finishing behind fierce rivals Barcelona in the league standings and ending the season without silverware, change now appears inevitable within the Spanish capital.
Furthermore, the match will also mark the end of Alvaro Arbeloa’s short spell in charge.
The former defender is set to step aside immediately after the game, with Mourinho widely tipped to complete a sensational return to Madrid next week.
Even though there is little left to play for competitively, emotions are expected to run high at the Bernabeu due to several farewell moments planned before and after kickoff.
Defence
Much of the spotlight is expected to fall on Dani Carvajal, who is preparing to make his final appearance for Real Madrid.
The experienced right-back is expected to start one last time in front of the home fans before bringing an unforgettable chapter to an end.
Another emotional goodbye could arrive for David Alaba. The Austrian defender’s contract situation had been discussed for months, and the club confirmed this week that his deal will not be extended beyond the summer.
Furthermore, Thibaut Courtois is likely to continue in goal as he builds rhythm after his recent return from injury problems.
Alongside Alaba in central defence, youngster Raul Asencio could once again receive an opportunity to impress.
On the left side, Fran Garcia is expected to get the nod ahead of Alvaro Carreras.
Midfield
The midfield selection may attract even more attention because of the return of Federico Valverde.
The Uruguayan has not featured since his controversial altercation with Aurelien Tchouameni, an incident that resulted in a major €500,000 fine from the club.
Tchouameni himself is unlikely to be involved due to ongoing shin discomfort, which could allow Eduardo Camavinga to step into the lineup.
Lastly, out wide, Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham are both expected to feature prominently.
Attack
Up front, the pressure will once again fall on Kylian Mbappe.
Despite Real Madrid’s disappointing campaign overall, the French superstar still has a major personal objective within reach as he looks to finish the season as La Liga’s top scorer.
Mbappe enters the final game with a narrow lead in the Pichichi race and will likely remain the focal point of Madrid’s attack alongside Gonzalo Garcia, whose future at the club remains uncertain heading into the summer transfer window.
Meanwhile, it must be remembered that Vinicius Jr. will not be available after receiving permission from the club to travel to Brazil early for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Not many saw the result that unfolded at the Estadio de La Cartuja last night coming, as Real Madrid slipped to a shocking 1-0 defeat to Real Betis.
Jose Mourinho made a couple of changes to his team on the night but fielded one of his strongest possible XIs, acknowledging the difficulty of the challenge Los Verdiblancos posed.
The first half ended scoreless, with the visitors completely dominating the flow of the game but failing to convert their chances. After the break, they only upped the ante and pressed higher to break the deadlock.
Almost against the flow of the game, however, Troy Parrott fired from very close range to put his side ahead through a set-piece, and Real Madrid had just ten minutes to find two goals.
A hard-fought ten minutes, a disallowed goal and a missed penalty later, however, the full-time whistle blew with Real Madrid staring at defeat.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Betis 1-0 Real Madrid.
A first loss under Mourinho
Real Madrid’s lacunae were visible in the team’s first away clash of the new season when they took home a last-gasp win over Espanyol.
They looked comfortable at home, but it has always been clear that they are not invincible.
A first defeat of the season, in that sense, was always just a matter of time as the team continued to develop under Jose Mourinho, and that setback appeared early in the campaign last night.
The defeat to Real Betis at the Estadio de La Cartuja continued Real Madrid’s trend of struggling away from home and exposed the team’s lacunae to the world once more.
A lot can be said about the refereeing and how the result was harsh on Los Blancos, but the fact of the matter remains that a team with the talent that Real Madrid possesses simply has no excuses to look so blunt in attack.
Jose Mourinho’s men created chances in abundance on the night, but none of the team’s star forwards could effectively finish a single chance.
Kylian Mbappe had a rare off-night and even Jude Bellingham did not score from any of his three shots. Vinicius Jr., Arda Guler, Yan Diomande and Carlos Espi all had their chances, but all failed to bury even a single chance.
In the end, it can be called misfortune, but for Real Madrid to have made nothing of an xG of 3.46 and to miss a penalty in the same game has to be dug into. The players did not play poorly, but the lack of a lethal finish came back to bite them.
Mbappe’s controversial penalty
Real Madrid had a massive chance to salvage something from the frustrating night in the 94th minute when the referee awarded the visitors a penalty that would see them return to level terms.
Kylian Mbappe stepped up, and it was taken for granted that the Frenchman would score as usual. Astonishingly, however, Mbappe did not find the back of the net.
For starters, it must be said that the Merengues have no one to blame but themselves for the defeat to Real Betis, for they could not have had a clearer chance to steal at least a point away from the night.
However, there was a clear element of controversy in the spot-kick that must not be misinterpreted as an excuse.
At the precise moment that Mbappe struck the ball from the spot, a Real Betis player was half inside the penalty area with his foot in the air.
Had the player’s foot been on the ground, the penalty would certainly have been retaken, and had he been outside the area, the save would be deemed completely fair. His foot being airborne, yet inside the box, however, opens up a grey area.
The referee on the night believed that having the foot in the air did not warrant a retake, and saw Real Madrid lose their penalty.
However, there are strong grounds to claim that it should have been retaken as his foot being inside the box takes precedence over whether it was grounded or not.
Had the referee’s decision gone differently, one would have backed Mbappe to come good the second time and Real Madrid would have avoided the defeat.
Alvaro Valles deserves his flowers
For Real Madrid to create seven big chances, have 20 shots and an xG of 3.46, and yet not score is simply absurd. But it happened last night against Los Verdiblancos, and only one man stood in between Real Madrid and the scoresheet – Alvaro Valles.
The Real Betis goalkeeper delivered the performance of his lifetime as he stopped chance after chance and denied the visitors any sight of goal.
In 90 minutes, Valles made a staggering six saves, all of which came from inside the box, and prevented a direct xG of 2.98. In simpler terms, Real Madrid should have scored three goals past him with the quality of chances they had, but he directly stopped them all.
Further, Valles saved Mbappe’s penalty under the highest of pressure in a moment that was simply the crowning moment of his entire night.
On a different night, with a different goalkeeper, the outcome of the game could well have been very different.
Valles, however, deserves every bit of praise he is earning for his performance last night, and even Real Madrid fans have no option but to stand and applaud the shift he put in for ninety minutes.
