Real Madrid secured their place in the knockout round of the Champions League with an emphatic 5-1 win over RB Salzburg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 15-time winners and current holders surprisingly lost three of their first six matches to sit surprisingly close to the bottom eight at the league stage.
But a determined, energetic Madrid burst out of the dressing room to produce an impressive performance, showing all the verve and class you’d expect to see from a side featuring Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
It was another Brazilian, Rodrygo, who started the party for Madrid, opening the scoring after 23 minutes with a measured strike into the far corner. That goal was steady, but what followed from the crafty winger was absolutely spectacular. Cutting in from the left, he raced onto Bellingham’s heel without looking back and drilled a beautiful shot beyond the outstretched glove of Janis Blaswich.
Mbappe scored one of the easiest goals he has ever scored in his Madrid career shortly after the break, robbing Blaswich of the ball before firing into an empty net, before Vinicius headed in the first of his two goals.
Scampering on Luka Modrić’s ball behind the back, the Ballon d’OThe runner-up showed incredibly quick feet to open the corner, whipping an unstoppable effort into the far corner.
His second was the result of a lightning-quick counter that saw makeshift right-back Federico Valverde dance across the middle of the park before laying the ball on the 24-year-old’s plate. One flick of the body later and Vinicius was through on goal, easily past Blaswich.
The only negative note for Madrid was the fact that Thibaut Courtois lost a goal to Mads Bidstrup five minutes from time, but they climbed to 16th in the league. Champions League table and sit just one point behind the top eight.
*Ratings are provided by FotMob
|
Players |
Ratings |
|---|---|
|
GK: Thibaut Courtois |
7.5/10 |
|
RB: Federico Valverde |
8.2/10 |
|
CB: Raul Asencio |
7.3/10 |
|
CB: Antonio Rudiger |
7.8/10 |
|
LB: Ferland Mendy |
7.3/10 |
|
CM: Dani Ceballos |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Luka Modric |
8.6/10 |
|
RM: Rodrygo |
8.8/10 |
|
in the morning: Jude Bellingham |
8.7/10 |
|
LM: Vinicius Junior |
9.0/10 |
|
ST: Kylian Mbappe |
7.9/10 |
|
UNDER: David Alaba (64′ for Bellingham) |
6.2/10 |
|
UNDER: Arda Guler (64′ for Ceballos) |
7.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Endrick (71′ for Rodrygo) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Brahim Diaz (71′ for Mbappé) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Jacobo Ramon (78′ for Rüdiger) |
6.3/10 |
Unused subscriptions: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Fran Garcia, Jesus Vallejo, Aurelien Tchouameni, Chema Andres,
Player of the match: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
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