Real Madrid secured their first league victory of the 2024-25 season by comfortably overcoming Real Valladolid at the Bernabeu with a 3-0 scoreline.
Arda Güler replaced the injured Jude Bellingham in the lineup with the formation being more of a 4-2-3-1 with the Turk playing as a number 10.
Real Madrid tried to get a goal right from the kick-off, and Antonio Rüdiger almost had an assist to his name when Kylian Mbappe’s volley was saved by Karl Hein in the 9th minute of the game.
The Merengues had a plethora of chances in the 1st half but were unable to find the back of net thanks to some good defending from Valladolid and the lack of clinicality from their own forwards.
Things changed after the half-time break. With just 5 minutes into the 2nd half, Fede Valverde slotted home a brilliant free-kick set up by Rodrygo and the deadlock was finally broken.
However, it was not long before Valladolid had a chance just two minutes later which forced Thibaut Courtois into action.
The away side came close to scoring the equaliser on multiple occasions thereon, but their inability to finish their chances was clearly on display.
Ancelotti brought on several players from the bench in the latter stages of the game, including Dani Ceballos, Brahim Diaz, and Endrick.
Not taking their chances ultimately costed the visitors when Eder Militao played a fabulous long ball to Brahim Díaz, with the substitute nonchalantly chipping the ball over the keeper to put the game to bed.
Los Blancos were not done yet as in the dying moments of the game, Endrick smashed the ball inside the net to score his first goal for the club following an intelligent pass from Brahim.
Overall, it was much better display as compared to the game against Mallorca, with the midfield looking balanced and the trio upfront connecting yet again – albeit not scoring.
Carlo Ancelotti would be pleased with this performance and so would be the Bernabeu faithful who witnessed their side dominate the game and end up on the winning side.
Next up, Real Madrid will travel to the Gran Canaria to take on Las Palmas just four days from now – coincidentally also the day of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
