Real Madrid have six points from a possible six at the start of the new La Liga season, enjoying an eventual 3–0 win over Real Oviedo on the road on Sunday night.
Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior scored the goals, the latter rewriting Los Blancos history in the process after starting the game on the bench. But even though the first had been scored in the first half, the second and third didn’t arrive until late.
For the second game running, having beaten Osasuna by a single goal last week, it wasn’t the most convincing performance—despite overall dominance. But it’s early days and that arguably bodes well for when everything actually does come together.
Team Rotation
Xabi Alonso made four changes from the team that started the season opener against Osasuna last week, with Vinícius Júnior among those dropping to the bench. Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Brahim Díaz were there the three others.
There was no obvious explanation for Viní Jr. dropping to the bench. But with Madrid active at the FIFA Club World Cup until July 9 and playing the first game of this season only 40 days later, rotation early in the season is perhaps to be expected from Alonso while players who haven’t had much rest and recovery time during the summer gradually return to full match fitness.
Opportunity for Rodrygo
With Viní Jr. not in the starting XI, this felt like an opportunity for Rodrygo to make his mark and remind everyone why he has been one of the top forwards in the world in recent seasons.
After often being left out in the cold by Alonso, transfer rumors and uncertainty continue to swirl, and the way this game unfolded won’t stop that.
Rodrygo wasn’t bad by any stretch. He misplaced only two of his 49 attempted passes and had four shots, two of which forced saves out of Aarón Escandell in the Oviedo goal.
What will disappoint him is that his performance didn’t have more of an impact, because Alonso decided to take him off after only 63 minutes and put Viní Jr. into the match. His fellow Brazilian proceeded to take advantage of a tiring opponent and the extra space opening up, by marking his 27 minutes plus stoppage time with a goal and assist.
Franco Mastantuono’s Full Debut
There was a first start in La Liga for 18-year-old summer recruit Franco Mastantuono.
The young Argentine may officially be registered with Real Madrid Castilla, but appearing off the bench against Osasuna and then being handed a place in the lineup here indicates that he’s unlikely to appear for the second string at all this season.
Alonso has big plans for Mastantuono and the player repaid that faith by working extremely hard out of possession, an important trait to have in this system.
He didn’t get the really big attacking output but still passed with 93% accuracy and had six touches of the ball in the Oviedo box. Crucially, he wasn’t overawed by the occasion and will only get better.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rotation Works Out for Xabi Alonso: Three Takeaways From Real Madrid’s Eventual 3–0 Win Over Real Oviedo.
