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Three takeaways from Real Madrid 4-0 Malaga
Real Madrid’s first clean sheet of the new season finally arrived today when the men in white took on newly-promoted Malaga in La Liga and put four goals past them.
Manager Jose Mourinho made wholesale changes to his starting lineup, and the new defensive combination surprisingly worked well in tandem to ensure they conceded no goals.
At the other end of the field, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe continued their imperious goalscoring form and helped the team to a 3-0 lead by half-time. The fourth goal eventually arrived in stoppage time as Arda Guler buried a Vinicius Jr. assist.
With the win on match day three, Real Madrid continue their perfect record in the new season and move to the top as provisional leaders of the league.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 4-0 Malaga.
First signs of rotations
Mourinho’s starting lineup in itself served as a massive point of discussion on Sunday afternoon as the manager made wholesale changes to his XI.
After sticking to the same combination for the team’s opening two games this season, he churned in rotations across the field, possibly keeping the hectic schedule in mind.
For starters, the manager brought in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella into the lineup for the first time this season, benching both Denzel Dumfries and Alvaro Carreras in the process.
That defensive shift was coupled with a change in the central defence as well where Ibrahima Konate was dropped for Antonio Rudiger, handing the German international his first start of the season.
In midfield, the manager opted to replace Bernardo Silva with Eduardo Camavinga, and the Frenchman joined Federico Valverde in the double pivot against Malaga.
Perhaps the most surprising shift in the XI, however, was on the right-wing where Mourinho dropped Arda Guler and deployed Brahim Diaz instead of the much-hyped Yan Diomande.
The lineup, in itself, gives massive clues as to which players the manager rated highly on Real Madrid’s bench, and possibly even indicates a shift in his preferred XI.
After all, the performances of the rotated players will be under scrutiny against the performances of the stars who replaced them, effectively making it an audition.
The usual duo strike again
When Kylian Mbappe arrived at Real Madrid, it was expected that he would become part of world football’s most dangerous attacking duo alongside Vinicius Jr.
As the years have passed, however, the Brazilian star’s impact on the game has grown inconsistent and continually reduced, and there is now a strong case that Vinicius is not even the second most important player for Real Madrid.
Mbappe and Jude Bellingham have been the team’s best players so far this season and had stunning numbers heading into Matchday 3. On Sunday, they further extended that red-hot streak.
Bellingham, in particular, was on fire against Malaga as he ran the show in midfield, constantly got into attacking positions and even opened the scoring with a stunning finish from a tight angle.
In fact, even Real Madrid’s second goal which went down as an own goal was one made possible only through the Englishman’s efforts.
In 87 minutes, Bellingham racked up a goal, a key pass, completed 95% of his passes, and won six duels for Real Madrid, making it clear that he is still riding high on the high left by the World Cup.
Mbappe, meanwhile, used the chance to score his fourth goal of the season and took a staggering six shots on the night, four of which were on target. He had two shots blocked, missed one big chance, and even won six duels against Malaga.
At this point, it is clear that Mbappe and Bellingham are Real Madrid’s most important assets, and they keep getting better with every passing game.
New full-backs impress
The full-back position at Real Madrid has historically been very significant, for the team’s style of play often revolves around the work-rate and attacking flair of the wide defenders.
In a counter-attack dominant side, the pace, attacking potency and defensive solidity of the full-backs can make or break the game, and it is clear why Mourinho saw the department as a priority to reinforce in the summer.
For the clash on Sunday, Mourinho replaced both his full-backs – Dumfries and Carreras – with big names in Trent and Cucurella. The duo played all 90 minutes, and they did not disappoint.
Making his first official start for Real Madrid since his arrival, Cucurella was rock solid on the left flank and he produced seven defensive contributions and won five duels.
His passing range and ability to distribute the ball stood out in particular as he completed 90% of his passes in the opposition box and made one key pass. To be defensively rock-solid and still rack up such numbers shows exactly why Mourinho rated the player highly.
Trent, meanwhile, had a massive point to prove heading into the game and did so with conviction. Handed the manager’s trust against Malaga, he bossed the passing aspect while also staying defensively resilient.
In 90 minutes, the former Liverpool star had a staggering 117 touches of the ball and completed 87 of his 96 attempted passes. He produced three key passes and created one big chance.
His effort did not go in vain as he racked up the assist for Mbappe’s lone goal, and it is clear that his performance caught the eye of the management.
Defensively, moreover, the Englishman stayed resolute with four defensive contributions, six recoveries and four interceptions. He has thus left his mark, and it remains to be seen if it is enough to push him ahead of Dumfries on the coach’s preference order.
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.
