Real Madrid score three times in 21 minutes down the left, then lose control of the second half.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | Rayo Vallecano | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Shots | 24 | 18 |
| xG | 2.62 | 1.21 |
| Touches in opp. box | 44 | 23 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 68% / 17% / Rayo Vallecano 16% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Dumfries, Konaté, Rüdiger, Carreras, Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Diomande, Bellingham, Vinícius Jr, Mbappé.
Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1): Audero, Rațiu, Lejeune, Ciss, Pedrosa, Bouare, Unai López, Tsitaishvili, Pedro Díaz, Álvaro García, Camello.
Rayo subs: Belaid, Valentín and Sadick (second half). Rayo manager: Beñat San José. Diomande's first start for Madrid. The last goal is timed 90+1' by FotMob and 90+2' by Real Madrid's own report.
Key moments, move by move
- Vinícius slips Carreras in behind on the left.
- Lejeune brings him down inside the box.
- Mbappé sends Audero the wrong way from the spot.
- Rayo Vallecano lose the ball near their box. Yahoo's report blames a loose back pass from Lejeune; Al Jazeera credits Vinícius's pressure.
- Mbappé picks it up and exchanges passes with Carreras.
- Carreras, on the left of the box, finishes with his left foot.
- Bernardo Silva starts the move from deep and combines with Vinícius on the left.
- Vinícius drives towards the byline and cuts the ball back.
- Bellingham, unmarked, strikes it first time.
- Real Madrid lose the ball in their own half. Most reports say Vinícius was dispossessed; one blames a loose forward pass from Rüdiger.
- Camello picks it up and runs at goal.
- He pokes it under Courtois.
- Real Madrid break. Güler carries the ball across midfield.
- He finds Mbappé on the right.
- Mbappé hits it first time, low across Audero into the far corner.
Every first-half goal came down Real Madrid's left
- The left side: Vinícius released Carreras for the penalty, Carreras and Mbappé combined for the second, and Bernardo Silva and Vinícius set up Bellingham's cut-back for the third. Carreras won five of his seven ground duels (Managing Madrid).
- Bernardo Silva as the build-up man: he played 69 minutes and was 'very tidy with his progression and distribution' (Managing Madrid). He said his job is to give Vinícius, Bellingham and Mbappé good ball and to press.
- First-half press: Vinícius, Bellingham and Valverde pressed hard, and Diomande won all three of his tackles on his first start. Real Madrid went in 3–0 up, and Mbappé hit the post before half-time.
- After the break: Valverde went off as a precaution and Real Madrid lost control. Pedro Díaz hit the post, Camello scored from a turnover and Courtois made six saves in the game. Rayo Vallecano finished with 18 shots and 1.21 xG.
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Real Madrid's left-side overload and first-half press · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Real Madrid's left-side overload and first-half press
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Dumfries | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Konaté | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Rüdiger | No-Nonsense Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LB | Carreras | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Valverde | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Bernardo Silva | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Diomande | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Bellingham | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Vinícius Jr | Inside Forward | Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Centre Forward | Central Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Progress ThroughLeft
- Pass ReceptionOverlapped
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- TempoHigher
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Trigger PressMore Often
- TacklingAggressive
The idea: Load the left: an inside forward drifting in, an attacking full-back overlapping outside him and an attacking midfielder arriving for the cut-back. It needs a full-back with the legs to overlap all game and a deep playmaker to feed that side.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 won't reproduce the second-half drop in control, which Mourinho put down to tiredness.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Güler on at 46' (for Diomande), Tchouaméni on at 46' (for Valverde). Keep the first-half plan, but make the half-time changes about control: Tchouaméni for Valverde and Güler straight away, not at 72'. Rayo Vallecano's second-half pressure came when Real Madrid couldn't keep the ball. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 68% to 76% (xG 2.62–1.21 becomes 2.82–0.96). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Arda Güler
After half-time Real Madrid lost the ball and the rhythm, and Rayo Vallecano hit the post and scored. When Güler came on he made five key passes in 18 minutes and set up the fourth goal. Mourinho said he made a difference to the stability of the game. At half-time he was the obvious way to keep the ball.
Vitinha
Real Madrid's second half was a control problem: Rayo Vallecano pressed and Madrid lost the ball in their own half for the goal. Vitinha receives under pressure, turns and keeps it moving, so a 3–0 lead is managed with the ball, not by Courtois's saves.
What the analysts said
“Fundamental to win, above all after losing the last game in La Liga. We killed the game in the first half.”José Mourinho (Al Jazeera)
“Everyone saw how Jude (Bellingham) finished the game, Dumfries, Konate... I can't make 10 changes in the lineup all at once.”José Mourinho (Zamin.uz)
“There is no doubt about the offensive strength and scoring ability of this team.”Bernardo Silva (Goal)
“We have to congratulate Madrid, but I'm proud of the players because the second half was much better.”Beñat San José, Rayo Vallecano coach (Al Jazeera)
Three goals in 21 minutes, then a 45-minute game.
What's happening. Madrid beat Rayo 4–1 and had it won by the 35th minute, with all three first-half goals built down the left. After the break Rayo took over, hit the post and scored, and part of the Bernabéu whistled.
How it works. Mourinho's Madrid win the ball back fiercely and attack quickly; that was the first half exactly. Valverde went off at half-time as a precaution, and the control went with him. A pressing team that can't keep the ball calmly ends up defending more than it planned to. The only calm spell after the break came from Güler's 18-minute cameo.
What the shots say. Replaying every shot, Madrid win about eight times in ten, so the result was deserved. But Rayo took 18 shots, a lot for an away side three goals down. The second half is the part to watch.