Real Madrid kept up their winning start to the La Liga season with a 3-0 win and a second consecutive clean sheet in as many games as they visited the Estadio Carlos Tartiere to see off Real Oviedo 24 years after their previous visit. The hero was Kylian Mbappé, already joint-top in the Pichichi standings with three goals, as he scored both of Real Madrid’s first two goals before Vinícius Júnior made it three with an injury-time goal after he came off the bench.
Three answers
1. Would there be changes from the team
that beat Osasuna?
On the face of it, “dropping” Vinícius Júnior and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as Éder Militão and Brahim Díaz, seemed a statement from Real Madrid. Bringing in Franco Mastantuono may have been a crowd-pleaser with many keen to see how he would get on, but the decision to give Rodrygo Goes his first start since the first game of the Club World Cup was a brave call. However, this seemed to be more of a rotation than a dramatic change in preference from Xabi Alonso. Real Oviedo were the last team to confirm their place in La Liga, not doing so until mid-June, and still builing their team with three new signings in the last week making their team, who were demolished by Villarreal last weekend in their first game at this level in over 20 years. If ever there is a time to rotate, particularly before the fixture congestion begins to pile up, that time was now and for a fixture that was always set to be a relatively straightforward one for Real Madrid.
2. What kind of reception would Real Madrid receive in Asturias?
This was Real Madrid’s first visit to Oviedo since 2001, when Real Oviedo were last in the top flight. Since then, the Asturian club has been through two financial crises, edging dangerously close to going out of existence. On one occasion, Real Madrid even invested €100,000 into buying shares in Real Oviedo to then cede them to the local authorities, helping to keep the club alive at a time when their survival was far from guaranteed. As such, it was no surprise that Real Madrid received such a warm welcome. Throughout Sunday, Real Madrid fans mixed with locals at bars around the city, and throughout the home section of the Tartiere there were Madridistas with their jerseys on who had no problems. There were some tenser moments, harsh abuse towards Vinícius Júnior including a bottle thrown at him as he celebrated his injury-time goal, but his gesturing to fans did little to help calm matters.
3. Would another low block be able to shut down Real Madrid?
In midweek, Osasuna were very effective in shutting down Real Madrid by playing with a deeper than expected defensive line and shutting up shop. Real Oviedo lacked some of that defensive quality and experience, but repeated the same 5-4-1 shape that worked effectively for Osasuna at the Bernabéu, and early on in the game it looked as though there were some similarities. Rodrygo had one good chance early on with only three minutes on the clock in the left-hand side of the box, but Real Madrid wouldn’t register another shot on target for another 30 minutes when Arda Güler hit a tame effort at Áaron Escandell. The frustration was growing, particularly with strong penalty shouts waved away, and it was an excellent finish from Kylian Mbappé after Aurélien Tchouameni won possession with a firm tackle that broke the deadlock. Had that goal, just eight minutes before the break, not come before half-time, this game might have taken a different turn.
Three questions
1. Did Vinícius Júnior make his point?
Not in the starting line-up when fully fit for the first time since March, it was unusual to see Vinícius on the Real Madrid bench. One eager-eyed photographer caught him yawning, clearly missing the adrenaline rush of being out on the field from the first kick. When he did get on, Vini looked like a man with a point to prove. He set up Kylian Mbappé to score with a strong press, which will please Xabi Alonso, to recover possession and then feed in the Frenchman to score, before getting himself on the scoresheet with a precise finish into the bottom corner in the final minutes. Yet still there were signs of the negatives he brings. A yellow card for diving could have become much worse had Mbappé not covered his mouth to avoid a confrontation with referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoechea as he celebrated his goal, the man in the middle waving to him to move away from the home fans as a bottle was thrown at him, with Vini reacting angrily to the suggestion.
2. Who is first choice in defence?
One of the major changes to the line-up was to see Xabi Alonso mix things up in defence. While it seems clear that Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to remain first choice, the battle between Éder Militão and Antonio Rüdiger to play alongside Dean Huijsen is one of the few uncertainties in Xabi Alonso’s strongest XI. Suspended for the first game of the season, Rüdiger came straight back into the side, and produced a solid display, recording a match-high 96% pass completion rate, winning three duels and making five clearances. It had been indicated that Alonso preferred Rüdiger to Militão when he first joined the club but had since been impressed by the Brazilian, and the two could now face a real battle to nail down a regular place in the side.
3. Is Arda Güler now first choice?
Among the best performers at the Tartiere was 20-year-old midfielder Arda Güler, who claimed his first assist of the season by setting up the opening goal from Kylian Mbappé. It came three months earlier than his first assist of 2024/25, which didn’t arrive until late November. This season, he has gained a regular first-team role and has been almost ever-present under Xabi Alonso. He generated eight chances against Oviedo with 0.69 expected assists, showing his importance in the build-up and creation for Real Madrid. Given his total of 65 attempted passes, with an impressive 94% completion given his position and role, that meant that he was generating a goal-scoring opportunity with one of every eight passes that he made. The next best chance-creator was Fede Valverde, who recorded half as many at four, while Kylian Mbappé recorded three.
