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Three takeaways from Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad
The Santiago Bernabeu reopened its gates for the first time this season on Wednesday night as Real Madrid took on Real Sociedad in what should have been their first game of the season.
Jose Mourinho made no changes to his starting lineup on the night and preserved the exact core that won against Espanyol – thereby rewarding the XI with continuity.
The players, needless to say, did not let the manager down as they finished the game with a 4-1 win and a dominant show.
Kylian Mbappe netted a wonderful hat-trick while Vinicius Jr. added the cherry on top with a simple finish. All in all, however, the men in white delivered a complete performance across all departments.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad.
Mbappe arrives in style
Real Madrid’s win last night was largely centred around Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick and the Frenchman’s lethal finishing in front of goal.
It is hard to put into perspective how important Mbappe is to Real Madrid’s attacks and results, for his performance was the single biggest difference between the tight win at the weekend and the dominant win last night.
Against Espanyol, Mbappe had several chances to score and missed all his opportunities, leading the team to a tight spot in the dying minutes. Last night, however, he buried every half-chance presented to him and the difference is clear.
Mbappe’s hat-trick was a special one, not only because of the ease of conversion but because of how technically difficult every individual goal was.
His first goal on the night came from a brilliant first-touch away from the defender followed by an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
For the second goal, he showed brilliant one-two play with Jude Bellingham to get into space and finish from a complicated angle.
The third goal, meanwhile, saw Vinicius and Bellingham combine beautifully to set up the Frenchman. Having a 1v1 situation, Mbappe went for glamour and finished with a perfect lob.
If Mbappe can stay as clinical in front of the goal, there is simply no stopping Real Madrid. The Frenchman, after all, is their single-most important player in the final third..
A second half of conviction
There was something beautiful about Real Madrid’s second-half performance last night, and it was not just the goals they scored with dominance.
For the first time in a long time, Los Blancos seemed to be playing free-flowing football with dangerous attacking combinations and one-touch passing.
The big stars showed a great sense of understanding of each other’s movements, got into attacking spaces and found each other with intricate passing sequences.
Jude Bellingham, for starters, was brilliant once again in the attacking midfield and combined exquisitely with Mbappe for his second goal and even did everything to set up Vinicius Jr. for a tap-in goal.
Beyond the Englishman’s understanding with Mbappe and Vinicius, even the French-Brazilian combination finally showed some promise as the duo worked in tandem for Real Madrid’s third goal on the night.
What the game thus proved was that Real Madrid can be heavily lethal and virtually unstoppable if the player put their egos and personal agendas aside and play for the badge.
A little hint of unselfishness, and Jose Mourinho’s team can move the world. After all, the talent is undeniably there, and if Real Madrid can continue playing like the second half last night, they will be the most dangerous team in world football.
Promise through the midfield
On paper, Real Madrid’s midfield is the single weak link in Jose Mourinho’s side and it is clear that a lot of emphasis will be placed on that department until order is restored.
The first game against Espanyol did not leave a great feeling about the control in midfield, and it was only moments of brilliance from Bellingham and Arda Guler that saw Real Madrid create chances of importance.
Last night, however, the entire midfield stepped up and performed at a high level, especially after the break. Containing Real Sociedad to their area is not simple, but the midfield did well to achieve the same.
Federico Valverde started alongside Bernardo Silva in the double pivot once more, and both players played a solid shift this time around with good understanding and link-up play.
The Uruguayan, in fact, even pushed forward to get into attacking positions on occasion and even came close to scoring towards the end of the game.
Mourinho’s decision to field Guler ahead of Yan Diomande also helped Real Madrid retain the dominance in the middle of the park, and the young Turk again racked up five key passes.
All in all, there were positive takeaways for Mourinho around Real Madrid’s midfield and there is a growing sense of optimism that there is enough to control and dictate games. The period of assessment, however, will continue for a long time.
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.
