Real Madrid got their first win of the new La Liga season with a 3-0 victory against Real Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Sunday afternoon’s match was hugely anticipated as it was Kylian Mbappe’s home debut, but supporters ended up with three other goalscorers to celebrate instead — including young Brazil star Endrick. The 18-year-old striker grabbed the third deep into time added on, just 10 minutes after coming off the bench to make his first official appearance for the club.
Carlo Ancelotti’s La Liga champions had a drab first half in which they struggled to create opportunities, but Federico Valverde’s free kick opened the scoring shortly after the break, before Brahim Diaz’s 88th-minute finish finally extended the lead further after some Valladolid counter-attacks.
“It leaves a good taste in my mouth. We did better together today,” Ancelotti said of the performance, no doubt relieved of the three points after the disappointment of last weekend’s 1-1 draw in their La Liga opener at Mallorca.
Nevertheless, Madrid still have room for improvement.
Let’s dive into the talking points.
Endrick steals the show from Mbappe
Before kick-off, Mbappe’s name was easily the most cheered by fans, while replicas of his No 9 shirt seemed to be everywhere in the stadium. This was finally the day Mbappe played his first game for Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Despite immense expectations, he didn’t have a dream debut.
From the start, the Frenchman looked motivated playing as the No 9. He linked with Valverde on the right of midfield with one-twos and made several good runs behind the Valladolid back line. From one of those came Madrid’s first sight of goal, as Mbappe struck a fierce first-time volley that tested Karl Hein, on loan from Arsenal, in the away team’s net.
Mbappe might have done better with several chances (Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
But on more than one occasion, Mbappe looked uncomfortable receiving the ball with his back to goal, and his team-mates did not find many of his runs with much success.
In the second half, he struck a clever backheeled shot straight at Hein, and also fired wide rather wildly while running at speed when he got another chance in the box. Still, every time he touched the ball the Bernabeu crowd showed their appreciation as with no other player, before he was substituted with four minutes of the 90 left and Madrid still 1-0 up.
“I don’t think it penalises him to play as a nine,” Ancelotti said. “He’s a spectacular striker, very quick, he moves very well without the ball, he attacks at the back… in the end, he’s going to score goals.”
With Mbappe off the pitch, Diaz doubled the lead, finishing smartly after racing clear to meet a through ball over the top.
Then it was Endrick’s time to shine.
The 18-year-old, who replaced Mbappe, had previously played here for Brazil in a March friendly against Spain, scoring a goal that impressed all the Madrid fans and club staff watching from the stands. Against Valladolid, he found the net again with a fierce low drive with his right foot from outside the box, having shifted past two defenders to make room.
After the match, his team-mates sent him messages of appreciation on social media, revealing his dressing-room nickname: Bobby, after England World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton, who he described as an idol in a recent interview.
How did Madrid play without Bellingham?
Ancelotti had to vary his system because of the absence of Jude Bellingham, who will be out at least a month after suffering a leg muscle injury in training last week.
Madrid’s coach has favoured a 4-3-3 in pre-season and this new term’s early stages, but he went for a 4-2-3-1 here as Arda Guler came in for Bellingham.
The 19-year-old Turkey international played in midfield at the start and, seeing that he was hardly getting into the game, often switched to the right flank in search of space.
But despite his attacking intent, Madrid encountered the same problems of fluency as against Mallorca and sources within the coaching staff privately acknowledged to The Athletic that there is plenty of room for improvement. Indeed, before half-time, some whistles were heard from the crowd.
Guler saw his deflected shot well saved (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
In the second half, however, Guler grew into the game and started to create more chances. After Valverde’s opener, he almost scored himself as his brilliant run ended with a deflected shot that was well stopped by Hein.
Paradoxically, with about 20 minutes left and just when he seemed to be at his best in the match, Ancelotti replaced him with Luka Modric, who contributed more defensively. In the final minutes, the 38-year-old midfielder was seen calling for the strikers to drop deeper and help protect the lead.
Militao in a still fragile defence
In the game against Mallorca a week earlier, one of the things that most displeased Madrid’s coaching staff was the lack of defensive commitment.
Against Valladolid, Ancelotti’s players were more effective in their pressing — including the forwards. But the change of system and the absence of the retired Toni Kroos in midfield still had an effect: although none of them were on target, the away side had eight shots at Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
In those moments of doubt, the figure of Eder Militao emerged — now fully recovered from the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee suffered in last season’s La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao.
Militao was impressive for Madrid on Sunday (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The Brazil centre-back recovered seven balls last night, made three successful dribbles that drew applause from the Bernabeu crowd and was especially outstanding with his long passing, including a spectacular assist for Brahim’s goal.
Yes, Madrid’s defence and attack need to coordinate better, but Militao’s performance was a good sign.
Is Valverde irreplaceable?
Valverde was named player of the match and was the standout individual who helped Madrid keep their balance. In addition to his continuous defensive efforts (six combined tackles and interceptions) and 90.3 per cent passing accuracy, he scored a very valuable free kick. He went to celebrate with Ancelotti, who shouted: “I told you so, I told you so!”
Valverde explained after the game: “Sometimes I’m embarrassed, I’m shy about not wanting to take the ball (to take a free kick). I think I have to thank him (Ancelotti) for his help.”
Will we see Valverde take more free kicks? (Pierre-Philippe-Marcou/AFP via Getty Images)
In the 86th minute, with the game still at 1-0, there was a mix-up on the sidelines and Valverde was about to be announced as coming off the pitch. Assistant coach Davide Ancelotti rushed to the assistant referee to prevent the substitution because it was a misunderstanding and they didn’t want to replace him.
“For me, it’s not difficult to say that he cannot be replaced because of his quality, his strength, his intelligence,” Carlo Ancelotti said after the match. “I think that when Kroos left, he chose the perfect player to replace him.”
(Top photo: Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)