Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 4–1 at the Bernabéu, with Kylian Mbappé delivering two goals and an assist, Álvaro Carreras making an electric start, and Arda Güler producing a spectacular cameo off the bench. The scoreline was convincing, though Rayo’s second-half improvement ensured Thibaut Courtois still had plenty of work to do.
Thibaut Courtois — 8
Made six important saves as Rayo grew into the game in the second half. Madrid’s attacking output will get most of the attention, but Courtois was
still required to intervene regularly and delivered when called upon.
Denzel Dumfries — 7
Defended well on the wing and finished with three tackles. Nearly added a goal with a towering header from an Arda Güler set piece. A solid contribution at both ends.
Ibrahima Konaté — 7
Strong in his duels and handled his defensive responsibilities well, though he did not have a particularly heavy workload, especially in the first half.
Antonio Rüdiger — 8
A monster in the air. Finished with a whopping 12 clearances and was consistently on hand to deal with deliveries into the box.
Álvaro Carreras — 8.5
An electric start: won the penalty for Madrid’s opener, then combined with Kylian Mbappé to score the team’s second goal. His attacking contributions were the headline, but he also won five of his seven ground duels. An excellent performance.
Fede Valverde — 7.5
Stepped up to press effectively and got himself into good attacking positions. Mourinho withdrew him at half-time as an injury precaution rather than for anything related to his performance. His absence was felt after the break.
Bernardo Silva — 7.5
Very tidy with his progression and distribution. Helped Madrid move the ball forward cleanly and initiated the move for the third goal from deep. Not the flashiest contribution of the evening, but an important one.
Yan Diomande — 7.5
Dazzled the Bernabéu with his dribbling on his first start and won the crowd over with his defensive work rate. Finished with two key passes and one wayward shot. Plenty of encouragement, even with room to sharpen the end product. Baby steps.
Jude Bellingham — 8.5
Unstoppable ball-carrying, a brilliant goal, and the usual relentless defensive hustle. Bellingham brought both attacking quality and a willingness to do the less glamorous work.
Vinícius Júnior — 8
Docked half a point for the mistake that led to Rayo’s goal, but his first-half performance was excellent. Pressed aggressively in the build-up to Madrid’s opener and provided the assist for the third goal. A major attacking influence, despite the costly error.
Kylian Mbappé — 9
Two goals, an assist, and only the crossbar standing between him and a hat-trick. Clinical in front of goal, while also turning provider for Carreras on Madrid’s second. An outstanding attacking performance.
Substitutes
Eduardo Camavinga — 6.5
Madrid suffered after he replaced Valverde in midfield, though that was not solely his responsibility. Distributed the ball well and won a couple of important ground duels, but the team did not maintain the same control after the change.
Aurélien Tchouaméni — 7
Helped close out the game with his defensive presence and distribution. A useful contribution to settle things down.
Arda Güler — 9
An absolute fireball off the bench. Completely changed the game and produced five key passes—the most of anyone on the pitch—in just 18 minutes. Also finished with an assist. An extraordinary amount of creativity packed into a brief appearance.
Marc Cucurella — N/A
