Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig as Mbappé scores in Champions League win

Nine points from nine. The Champions League is Real Madrid’s spa, insulating the team from the noise of the Negreira case and domestic battles while bringing out its best qualities, both natural and supernatural (you don’t have to look far back, just think of Rome). It even improves Mourinho’s mood, with the coach talking about a referee, Kovacs, in the same terms he might use for Mbappé. The Romanian earned the praise, although the players made his job easy.

With the Clásico in mind, Madrid left a better impression in the second half than in the first, confirming that this is a team with more speed than patience. To exploit that, it needs to score first. There was also further confirmation that Valverde is going to be playing right back for some time. He unleashed wave after wave of attacks and even found time to defend.

Güler lived up to predictions that he is a player on the rise, Mbappé got his goal, Diomande scored a beauty and Vinicius was neither good nor bad, which in his case is saying very little. He was never an indifferent player. That adventurous, disruptive, happy version of Vinicius is still nowhere to be seen. And for everything to turn out well in the end, Madrid first had to call on Courtois. Groundhog Day.

Mourinho started Vinicius plus 10 others, just as he had promised. It showed that the Brazilian still has plenty of credit despite his recent performances, and also that there is a Clásico on Sunday. So the main ingredients remained unchanged: Courtois; Valverde at right back, now the new normal; Bellingham; Mbappé; and even Güler, who has become virtually indispensable. The supporting cast changed, however.

Rüdiger and Carreras came in, along with a midfield pairing never previously used in a competitive game: Bernardo Silva and Camavinga, a hybrid engine. Their only previous appearance together came in the Teresa Herrera Trophy. Don’t expect them to start at Camp Nou, although they fit together well. Without the ball, the Frenchman pushed higher to disrupt Seiwald’s attempts to play out. In possession, Bernardo Silva, the more creative of the two, moved into the more advanced midfield role.

Diomande started on the bench, sparing Mourinho some intrigue and perhaps a debate. This does not appear to be the moment to put him and Vinicius on the field together, at least until the Brazilian emerges from his slump. The Bernabéu is watching closely, and there is always the dangerous temptation to compare them. When the Ivorian came on, Vinicius went off. It felt like a prudent decision.

Leipzig arrived in Madrid with a puzzling set of numbers: four wins from four at home, with 18 goals scored, but four defeats from four away, with a 12-2 aggregate score against them. Their latest setback, a 6-1 defeat to Bayern, had been emphatic, but Martín Demichelis, the coach for whom Leipzig paid Mallorca a $2.9 million release clause, resisted the temptation to make sweeping changes. He made only three, one in each line. The minimum punishment.

Leipzig began cautiously, surrendering territory, staying alert defensively and offering little going forward. But they gradually realized that Madrid, whose start had been somewhat flat, were not quite as fearsome as their trophy cabinet suggested.

Güler was the exception: commanding, dangerous and fully engaged. He is close to completing the transition from exciting talent to cornerstone of the team. His first flashes of inspiration failed to find a finisher, but they woke Madrid up.

On the opposite side, Vinicius, with the threat of a place on the bench beginning to loom, seemed almost invisible, as though the controversy surrounding the player had swallowed up the player himself. Then one of his trademark bursts ended with an effort saved by Vandevoort, who would later deny him again. Vinicius subsequently tracked all the way back to the fullback position to stop a Leipzig counterattack, perhaps looking to make amends.

By then he had already heard warning whistles from the crowd.

Those came after a miraculous Courtois save from Rómulo’s sudden shot on the turn. It was no fluke. The Belgian did it again later, denying Nkunku one-on-one. That goalkeeper is almost as valuable as a leading scorer.

Courtois’ heroics were followed by Bernardo Silva’s opener, the product of Madrid’s best move in tight spaces. Mbappé, Valverde and Güler combined in a tiny area, with Güler’s shot becoming tangled between Vandevoort’s legs before Bernardo, perfectly positioned to take advantage, pushed the ball into the net.

It was a calming goal because Madrid had not yet taken control of the game and were beginning to look vulnerable to Leipzig’s attacks. Little by little, almost unnoticed, Demichelis’ side had taken the ball away from Mourinho’s team and the good mood away from the Bernabéu, where watching Madrid scramble around in its own half never goes down particularly well.

Leipzig went into halftime behind for two reasons, the second considerably more important than the first: they lacked a clinical touch, and they don’t have Courtois.

Bernardo Silva’s goal ultimately knocked Leipzig off track. Once the scoreline forced the Germans out of their shell, Madrid began to enjoy itself.

Valverde, racing up and down the flank, and Bellingham, operating through the middle, caused constant problems for Leipzig’s defense. Unlike the first, Madrid’s second goal came with plenty of warning. The home side had begun to spend more and more time around Vandevoort’s penalty area and eventually capitalized.

Bellingham sent in an inviting cross and Mbappé headed it back across the goalkeeper, only for Güler, arriving on the goal line, to make absolutely sure, just as Bernardo Silva had done for the opener.

Then Vinicius departed, looking like a tormented player, and Diomande took his place. Two dribbles and the superb volley that helped complete the rout were enough to win over the Bernabéu. The stadium’s affections are changing.

Cucurella also came on and was booed by the German supporters, who have not forgotten Euro 2024. Their punishment came when Mbappé curled home the goal that had been missing from an increasingly comfortable Madrid victory. Gomis’ late goal for the visitors reduced the margin cosmetically, but little more.

Madrid had its third Champions League victory from three and, more importantly, heads into the Clásico with the goals flowing.

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Andrija Maksimovic (62', Brajan Gruda), Rocco Reitz (62', Neil El Aynaoui), Yan Diomande (69', Vinícius Júnior), Marc Cucurella (69', Álvaro Carreras), Max Finkgräfe (72', David Raum), Tidiam Gomis (72', Antonio Nusa), Brahim Díaz (77', Arda Güler), Christoph Baumgartner (77', Christopher Nkunku), Carlos Espí (87', Kylian Mbappé), Endrick (87', Jude Bellingham)

1-0, 43': Bernardo Silva, 2-0, 51': Güler, 3-0, 82': Mbappé, 3-1, 84': Tidiam Gomis, 4-1, 86': Diomande

Referee: István Kovács VAR Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski, Bram van DriesscheCarreras (67',Yellow), Rocco Reitz (69',Yellow)