Real Madrid got their second win of the La Liga season by beating Real Betis at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu with a brace from Kylian Mbappé as he got his first La Liga goal and followed it up with another only eight minutes later from the penalty spot.
Three answers
1. Who would start in the Jude Bellingham vacancy?
Three games without Jude Bellingham, three different options have started in his place. Arda Güler against Valladolid, Luka Modrić against Las Palmas, and most surprisingly of all, Dani Ceballos against his boyhood club Real Betis. Ceballos was the shock pick, with nobody in the media expecting him to come into the side, making his first start since the 4-4 draw away at Villarreal in May. It made sense in some ways, with his ability to progress the ball in possession. In reality, it didn’t quite work out. Playing in a slightly more advanced role, a hybrid between those played by Güler and Modrić, but it showed that this was a man not playing regular football, with slow decision making and easily losing possession. His pass completion rate of 86% was low, with only one of his five attempted passes into the box reaching their target. Defensively, he won only five of 10 duels and was dribbled past twice. It will continue to be a headache for Carlo Ancelotti.
2. Could Kylian Mbappé open his account?
With the international break coming up on the horizon, there was extra pressure on Kylian Mbappé to score his first La Liga goal in his fourth appearance. The Bernabéu was once again sold out, and while Madridistas have remained patient, some quarters were starting to itch and point to a bigger problem than merely a slightly slow start. When he missed an offside chance in the second half, it seemed that nothing would go in for him, until he finally found the back of the net. “We have never put pressure on him,” Carlo Ancelotti explained post-match. “He played a good game, like everyone else, he had many opportunities. It’s important for him to score.” This could well be the first of many.
3. Who would take a penalty if one was awarded?
Following Vinícius Júnior stepping up against Las Palmas, there had been debate over who would be the penalty taker for Real Madrid this season. “It is right to give the responsibility to both Mbappé and Vinicius, so I prefer that they decide because I have a lot of confidence in them,” Ancelotti had declared in his pre-match press conference. “It will depend on how they are in the match and what each one needs.” It was ironic that it would be the Brazilian who would win the chance to score from 12 yards, with Mbappé still on the high of having opened the scoring eight minutes earlier. Vini’s decision to clearly hand the ball over to Mbappé to take his shot from the spot was a clear message to those in the media saying that the two don’t get on.
Three questions
1. Is this problem solved?
For the first time this season, we saw Real Madrid appear to get their swagger back for a short spell in the second half, as Carlo Ancelotti finally found a way to get the front line to click and get the best out of his forwards. On another night, Kylian Mbappé has a hat-trick here and Real Madrid are already looking up their odds to win the league again. However, we must also remember the moments that earned whistles and boos as the first half produced more of the same. This international break could come at both the best and the worst possible time, robbing the team of the chance to build momentum but equally giving some of those left behind a chance to work on the training ground and Ancelotti a chance to analyse what’s gone wrong, and, in this game especially, what’s gone right.
2. Who played on the left?
One of the hot topics in recent weeks has been the team’s natural tendency to drift to the left flank, with all three of the attackers preferring that side of play. Here, we saw them continue to be dynamic and rotate, but in a slightly different approach. Unlike in other games, we saw players switching positions more clearly. At times, Mbappé and Vinícius would swap positions, with the latter going down the middle like a number nine. It was an intriguing tactical mix-up which caused confusion and problems for Betis. Keeping track of such pace and skill is hard enough, let alone when the two were changing. If they can maintain that discipline to execute such a game plan consistently, it could be the key to unlocking several La Liga defences.
3. How important is the Bernabéu?
Four games, two wins and two draws, and both victories have had one thing in common: they’ve come at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The sporting arena is unrivalled across the globe, and is clearly impacting the team, particularly later on in games where tired opposing legs struggle to keep up with the extra push of motivation from the stands. The good news for Los Blancos lies in the fixture list. After the international break, Real Sociedad away looks a tricky away visit, but they have lost both home games to date this season and are yet to score more than one in a single game this season. After that, there’s a run of three consecutive home matches against VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League, and Espanyol and Alavés in La Liga. That’s a superb platform to build confidence and a springboard for success.
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