Real Madrid had Vinicius Junior to thank as they came from behind to beat Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday.
Thibaut Courtois’ unfortunate own goal early in the second half put the pressure on, but Madrid responded by bringing Vinicius off the bench and celebrated Dani Carvajal’s equalizer moments later.
Rodrygo scored a second with 15 minutes remaining, before Vinicius grabbed his deserved goal to put the game to bed, and there was still time for a Kylian Mbappe penalty to send the fans happy.
How the game developed
Madrid saw plenty of half-chances in the first ten minutes, coming closest when Mbappé’s stab was well deflected by Joan Garcia.
Garcia again denied Mbappé after a clever pass led to a powerful strike from the edge of the box, with Madrid looking to capitalize on their 82% possession in the opening 25 minutes.
Jude Bellingham struck from distance but sent his effort back to Garcia who, despite being clearly the busier of the two goalkeepers, had to do nothing spectacular as Madrid obliged to settle for ambitious and unconvincing efforts in the first half.
Madrid went into the break with 77% possession and 14 shots on target, but they could have very few complaints about the score.
Out of nowhere, Espanyol almost took the lead shortly after the restart. Left-back Carlos Romero unleashed a ferocious effort from distance that went wide of the post and had an uncertain Courtois to get past.
The surprise advantage came soon after, however. A low cross from Jofre Carreras deflected off Arda Guler and into the back of the net through the legs of Courtois to give Espanyol the lead in the 55th minute. In response, Vinicius arrived.
Three minutes later, 1-1. The goal was pretty straightforward for the opener, with Bellingham’s low power squirming under him and almost stopping on the goal line as the onrushing Carvajal tapped home.
The introduction of Vinicius helped turn the game around and the winger set up Rodrygo’s goal with 15 minutes remaining.
A stunning pass off the boot beat the offside trap perfectly and landed right into the path of Rodrygo, who could hardly miss from six yards.
The creator turned scorer almost immediately afterwards as Vinicius collected Mbappé’s pass and slotted home to remove any doubt about the result.
In the closing minutes, Endrick was awarded a penalty after winning a long tussle with Romero, and Mbappé made no mistake from 12 yards.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 5/10 – He had very little to do, apart from getting the ball into the back of the net. I couldn’t have done much.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 6/10 – Careless possession and caught out of position for Espanyol’s first goal. He almost made up for it with the easiest goal imaginable.
CB: Eder Militao – 7/10 – Surprisingly threatening in the Espanyol box. He came up with a smart pass more often than you’d expect.
CB: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – Comfortable and composed in the back. Given time to use his passing range.
LB: Fran Garcia – 6/10 – Encouraged by the left flank as he tried to fire Madrid’s attack.
DM: Federico Valverde – 7/10 – He was sucking up loose balls like a man possessed. Key to Madrid’s constant pressure.
DM: Luka Modric – 7/10 – He pulled the strings with some beautiful passes behind Espanyol’s defense. Surely he deserved an assist.
RM: Arda Guler – 7/10 – He seethed with real energy as he tried to link the midfield and attack. Involved in many good times. Unfortunate with the deviation for the own goal.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 8/10 – A complete display that saw Bellingham launch into crunching challenges and try to cut their way through Espanyol’s defence. Unsurprisingly, it inspired the tie.
LM: Rodrygo – 7/10 – Solid for most of the game but his impressive work rate led to a deserved goal.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 7/10 – Definitely not his best performance, but he showed his selfless side to play Vinicius for the third goal. He slotted home a late penalty.
Substitutes
SUB: Vinicius Junior (55′ for Guler) – 8/10
SUB: Lucas Vázquez (61′ for Carvajal) – 6/10
SUB: Antonio Rudiger (83′ for Rodrygo) – N/A
SUB: Endrick (83′ for Bellingham) – N/A
Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Ferland Mendy, Jesus Vallejo
manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 6/10 – He took the risk of resting Vinicius which did not bear fruit. Wise to abandon hope of keeping the Brazilian on the bench when Madrid lost 1-0.
