Real Madrid beat Real Valladolid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, with goals coming from Fede Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick. It was a good second half from Los Blancos, as they managed to win the game by a convincing margin even though they were far from their best. Let’s look at three quick observations from the game.
The attack is not clicking, but it is not a crisis
Kylian Mbappe, has not scored a goal in his first two games in La Liga, and apparently, that is a crisis. To give you a short answer, everything will fall into place soon, Mbappe will score goals — and plenty of them — and this topic will be laughed off when revisited in a few months.
But, obviously, some things need to change in order for that to happen — this is the long answer.
Firstly, and frankly, the biggest observation derived from this, is that Mbappe has not been involved enough, and that is the fault of both Mbappe and the players around him. Mbappe has made a fair amount of runs, but the midfield does not give him enough to work with because sometimes it lacks that incisiveness that you get with a Toni Kroos or a Luka Modric — even less so with Jude Bellingham out with an injury
Secondly, we have to be a little realistic — the team has just brought in Kylian Mbappe, which has caused a shift in the style of play, especially after losing one of the team’s cornerstones in Toni Kroos. There are bound to be some growing pains involved.
Saying that, there is not enough congruence between the forwards. At points, they feel like they want to outdo the other rather than come together to be a better trio. It is not a big issue, but it is something that needs to be addressed. There is a lack of understanding as well, Had Vini, Mbappe or Rodrygo played a couple of their passes right, we would be looking at a different conversation. The bright side? Players take time to get used to each other’s playing style, it is completely normal.
Mbappe does have to do a lot better creating space for himself. Sometimes, he is seen standing still; he needs to be a bit more involved in the buildup, but also needs to pounce on more runs than he has so far. There is a need to show more intent to want to score goals, which will also happen over time.
These are small things that Ancelotti will need to figure out in the next few games, but as long as Real Madrid keep winning those games, this should not be a problem for them. Everything takes time, but it helps if you are not losing crucial points while figuring it out.
The good things: Bench mob 2024-25 is up and running
In all of Real Madrid’s most successful seasons, the bench plays an incredibly important part. Last season, it was Joselu’s heroics and Brahim’s brilliance in the knockout stages that got Real Madrid to the final. In 2022, it was Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo doing God’s work. No matter how good the starting XI is, you need a unit on the bench that could make a difference; a bench mob.
Presenting you the (potentially) some of the important bench players this season — Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz, Dani Ceballos and Endrick — all of whom had an impact against Valladolid.
I was not going to put Endrick here, but then I realised, Endrick is one player you have to put there. Even though his game hasn’t developed enough to be a starter for a team in Europe, let alone Real Madrid, he has the it factor. Endrick has that difference-making quality off the bench that you need badly in a team. Take this: he played a lot of minutes in the pre-season as a starter for Real Madrid, and was barely able to get anything to fall for him.
But, when it finally mattered, he did it; Endrick scored a belter minutes after coming on to make his debut. He did the same for Brazil against Spain at the Bernabeu back in March. He has a ‘moments’ factor to his game that makes him a worthy candidate to bring off the bench when you need goals, even though he needs to develop a lot to become a proper first-team player.
Let’s talk about the other three — Guler is someone who has the potential to become a first-XI player, and I think he helps with providing balance and can become the linking pin between the attack and midfield — something that has been a problem this season. We saw that against Valladolid, when he operated in the right half-space and sometimes just behind the striker — also becoming a very good box presence.
Brahim Diaz is also one of those impact players, but a different kind to an Endrick. His linebreaking presence is incredibly important for the team to get out of bad offensive slumps. That, coupled with his relentlessness, his willingness to keep going even after failure is his most important trait, and he showed that with a great goal and an assist off the bench. He changes the dynamic of the team — similar to Vini — and attracts bodies to create space for his teammates.
Dani Ceballos had a down year last year. He didn’t play much, kept getting injured, and whenever he did play, he wasn’t very good. I thought at the time, that the fact that he did not play much may be the reason why he wasn’t doing well. Luckily, with one less midfielder to compete with, along with a great pre-season under his belt, Ceballos looks much more like himself again. He is dribbling with confidence, he moves with the ball effortlessly, he plays good, line-breaking passes and helps by providing the control that the team has desperately needed in the last couple of games. Bringing him off the bench on tough Champions League nights was a problem last season, but this season, Ceballos looks like someone who can make an impact.
Militao, back with a bang
Some quick words on Eder Militao: he is very good, back to his best, which is amazing.
Real Madrid have little to no depth in defense, but the two starters are world-beaters on their day, and it seems like Militao is having his day every time he sets foot on the pitch. He seems like he has gotten rid of the rustiness after his horror ACL injury last season — something that impacted the freedom with which he played, the pace at which he ran and his concentration while defending in the limited minutes he played last season. This time around, we are seeing Militao come back to an elite level both as a defender and as a long-range passer (see: his beautiful assist to Brahim’s goal).
People had their doubts last season about his health, and what version of him they think will return, and he has put those doubts to bed in just three official games.
Militao, whenever he played in the pre-season, was among the players who impressed me the most. He has taken that form into the season and built on it heavily, which is incredible for a team that is, at times, very shaky defensively and one that doesn’t have enough depth beyond their starting centre-backs.
