Xabi Alonso's side weren't particularly impressive on Sunday but still secured their second La Liga win in a row to open the season
Kylian Mbappe scored twice before Vinicius Jr added a third to secure a 3-0 victory for an otherwise underwheliming Real Madrid over newly-promoted Real Oviedo. Xabi Alonso's side produced an unconvincing performance for the second straight game, but leaned on their star attackers to provide enough moments of quality to win.
Madrid almost conceded within seconds as an Oviedo foray forward drew a mistake out of Thibaut Courtois, but the excellent Dean Huijsen recovered well. Los Blancos were otherwise on the front foot throughout, even if they created few opportunities, and they scored from their one real chance of the first half when Mbappe swivelled around his man on the edge of the box and finished wonderfully into the bottom corner.
Federico Valverde could have made it two in the second half when he found himself on the receiving end of a finely-worked counter, but goalkeeper Aaron Escandell saved at full stretch. Oviedo, meanwhile, had their chances as the half wore on and hit the post shortly before Mbappe ruthlessly stroked the ball into the bottom corner after a pass from Vinicius with seven minutes remaining.
Vinicius then added some gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time as he found the bottom corner after Oviedo committed too many men forward as Alonso's side made it two wins from two to start their La Liga season.
GOAL rates Madrid's players from Estadio Carlos Tartiere…
GettyGoalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (6/10):
Almost made to look very silly by an early Oviedo attack, but bailed out by his defence. Dealt with a couple of easy saves before producing one full-stretch stop late on.
Dani Carvajal (6/10):
Made his first La Liga start since sustaining a serious knee injury nearly a year ago. Solid as he gets more minutes in.
Antonio Rudiger (5/10):
Given real trouble by Rondon, and was far more comfortable when the veteran striker was replaced.
Dean Huijsen (8/10):
An excellent performance. Impervious at the back, up for the fight, and good with the ball.
Alvaro Carreras (6/10):
Helped move the ball, got into some good areas, and kept his side of the pitch relatively steady.
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Aurelien Tchouameni (7/10):
Kept in the XI while a few others changed. Controlled space effectively, moved the ball well and won a key challenge in the run up to Madrid's opener.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Showed a bit more positional discipline. Almost grabbed himself a goal, only to be well denied.
Arda Guler (8/10):
Played some clever passes and almost set up a lovely goal in the first half before producing the assist for Mbappe.
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Franco Mastantuono (6/10):
Had some nice touches off the right, created a couple of chances, but didn't offer the kind of width Madrid needed.
Kylian Mbappe (8/10):
Scored a wonderful goal after an otherwise ineffective first half. Did the same again after the break. Didn't really have any other chances, but hard to knock him for being the match-winner.
Rodrygo (5/10):
Started on the left (finally), but was largely ineffective. If Madrid were hoping to add a few million to his price tag, they failed.
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GettySubs & Manager
Brahim Diaz (6/10):
Lively in a midfield role. Forced a couple of key turnovers.
Vinicius Jr (7/10):
Booked for diving but provided a delightful assist for Mbappe before scoring one of his own.
Gonzalo Garcia (N/A):
Ran tirelessly, but had relatively few chances to make an impact otherwise.
Dani Ceballos (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Xabi Alonso (7/10):
Made some changes, including leaving Alexander-Arnold and Vinicius on the bench. They worked for the most part, with Madrid scoring three good goals and looking mostly in control. Two games, two wins.