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Real Madrid 4-1 Mallorca: Player ratings
Barcelona’s win over Cadiz on Saturday put them provisionally on top of the league standings and only a win for Real Madrid would see them leapfrog their arch-rivals. In theory, a win over Mallorca should have been easy but Real Madrid suffered against them on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti fielded a heavily rotated lineup with the likes of Eden Hazard, Dani Ceballos, Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez receiving starts.
The hosts had the better chances in the first half but could not make the most of them. Despite Real Madrid dominating the proceedings, it was Mallorca who took the early lead through Vedat Muriqi.
But Federico Valverde scored a screamer to send both teams on level terms into half-time. And the hosts came back with an explosive second half to blow away the opposition. Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Rudiger all got on the scoresheet as they ran away to a 4-1 win.
Madrid Universal brings you the player ratings from Sunday’s game.
Thibaut Courtois: 7
Not much he could do about the opener, did well to keep his team in the game by making a crucial save in the opening minutes.
Lucas Vasquez: 7.5
The Spanish international was a lively presence on the right flank and was regularly involved in the buildup sequences with Valverde and Rodrygo. Defensively, he was calm and composed and did well to contain Kang-in Lee.
Antonio Rudiger: 7
Not his best defensive performance. Often allowed the visitors into the box from the right side, especially for Antonio Sanchez’s chance in the second half. However, he got his first goal for the club with a neat finish in the final minute of the game.
David Alaba: 7
Was the better of the two centre-backs but still far from his best.
Ferland Mendy: 3.5
A poor first half with an unnecessary yellow card. The Frenchman was ball-watching during Mallorca’s opener and looked lost in the final third. The second half was better, but it is clear why Ancelotti does not see him as a long-term solution.
Federico Valverde: 9
Valverde was everywhere on the field – winning balls, orchestrating the play and challenging the opponents’ goal. He can take complete credit for the team’s equaliser in the final minute of the first half as he took the ball across the field and hammered it beyond the reach of Rajkovic by himself.
Toni Kroos: 8
Silently carried the team through the middle of the park and acted like the adhesive that kept the side together. Completed over 100 passes and played well in the role of a pivot.
Dani Ceballos: 8
The Spaniard was given a rare start by Ancelotti and he took his chance with both hands. He was Real Madrid’s most important midfielder on the afternoon with his press resistance and incisive passes. Often, it was his final ball that led to direct chances on the goal.
Rodrygo: 9
A constant threat in the final third and had several chances to score himself. Eventually got the assist for Vinicius’ goal with some calm control under pressure.
His best moment in the game came in the penultimate minute of regulation time as he ran past the Mallorca defence and scored a wonder goal.
Eden Hazard: 6
Made his presence felt with some tight pass sequences in the opposition box. Yet, he was still invisible for large periods of the game.
Vinicius Jr: 9
The Brazilian oozed confidence and toyed around with Mallorca’s defenders on numerous occasions. However, it was not his best performance in front of the goal in the first half. Later in the day, however, he changed that with a well-worked finish to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead.
Substitutes
Luka Modric: 7.5
Came on in the 60th minute and immediately took over the reins in midfield. Seemingly created a chance almost every time he touched the ball. Once again showed the world why he is the best in the business.
Nacho Fernandez: 6
Did what was needed of him after replacing Mendy.
Eduardo Camavinga: 6
Came in, completed all his passes and won all his duels.
Dani Carvajal: 7
Came on to replace Vazquez and did exceedingly well to fortify Real Madrid’s right wing. Also got the assist for Rodrygo’s goal.
Roma made Real Madrid suffer for over 80 minutes on Wednesday night, and with a 3-1 lead, looked good for the win.
A flurry of set-pieces and accurate conversion, however, saved Los Blancos and helped them take all three points against the run of play.
The true depth of the club’s forward line was on full show on the night as Kylian Mbappe, Endrick and Carlos Espi all scored for Real Madrid and contributed to the 4-1 win.
What the result once again proved, however, is that the team under Jose Mourinho continues to have severe lacunae that will be punished by any elite European opposition.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Roma 3-4 Real Madrid.
A mess of an encounter
Real Madrid simply seem incapable of winning a game of football without suffering and making a massive mess out of it at this point, and the win last night did not change that perspective in any sense.
Los Blancos were outplayed by Roma for the major part of the night as the hosts played with more intent, attacking freedom and possession against Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho’s men have been unconvincing on the road this season, and last night appeared set to go down as another defeat until a massive turn of events in the final ten minutes.
Earning back-to-back set pieces, Real Madrid managed to convert a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win, but that does not speak to the team’s dominance in any capacity.
In the past, such a remontada would be celebrated as a mark of the team’s mentality, but those feelings do not seem to predominate this time around. Instead, the game is largely being viewed as an outing that exposed Real Madrid’s problems once again, but where they got fortunate enough to take three points.
The signs, at this point, continue to be extremely worrying and Mourinho and Co. have a lot of effort to put in if they are to overturn the team’s situation.
Substitutes outperform the starters
Jose Mourinho’s starting lineup against Roma was a representation of the mental picture the manager has of the team – and was his ‘strongest’ XI on paper.
Summer signings Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate started in defence alongside Antonio Rudiger and Denzel Dumfries.
The ‘Gala’ midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde joined Jude Bellingham in midfield while Yan Diomande, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe all started.
Despite all the big names featuring from the get-go, however, Real Madrid simply failed to create any passage of dominant play, nor did they create regular openings to score. Instead, they remained on the back foot comfortably, and matters only changed after substitutions rolled in.
Mourinho brought on Endrick and Arda Guler at the hour mark, replacing Vinicius and Dumfries, and thereby increased the attacking intensity. With Guler on the field, the team finally had a creative spark and Endrick constantly threatened the box.
Slightly later, the coach brought on Bernardo Silva for Aurelien Tchouameni, handing the team far more stability and control in midfield and restoring some level of order.
The arrivals of Carlos Espi and Alvaro Carreras in the 78th minute finally freed Real Madrid and they managed to pull off the comeback.
Every single one of the players who came on played a significant part in the comeback, be it the stability and creativity Silva and Guler offered or the attacking solutions Endrick and Espi brought. Even Carreras was an upgrade over Marc Cucurella.
How much disarray is too much disarray?
Given how Real Madrid’s midfield has looked this season, there will inevitably come a point when Jose Mourinho pulls the plug on the Valverde-Tchouameni plan.
The manager currently sees the duo as his best defensive midfield combination for the big games, but the disarray in midfield is growing with every game and the duo are unable to provide the control Real Madrid requires.
A breaking point, in that sense, will certainly arrive, but the bigger question is how much disarray is required for the manager to pull the plug on a plan that is clearly not working.
Against Roma last night, the game changed completely after Bernardo Silva came on for Tchouameni, and that alone shows how glaring the midfield problem currently is.
Not only did the Tchouameni-Valverde pairing struggle to keep possession, but they offered no attacking edge or creative spark and even looked shaky defensively.
There is an urgent need to bring the likes of Guler and Bernardo Silva into the starting dynamics for Real Madrid, and only time will tell when Mourinho will decide he has seen enough.
