Mbappé’s brace, Vinícius off the bench, and a calm Madrid away win
Kylian Mbappé needed one clean touch and one ruthless finish to quiet a loud Carlos Tartiere. By the final whistle, Real Madrid had a 3-0 win, Mbappé had a brace, and Vinícius Júnior had iced the game in stoppage time. It wasn’t flashy for 90 minutes, but it was controlled, clinical, and very Alonso.
Real Oviedo came out bold and direct. A long ball early on split the visiting back line, and Thibaut Courtois was sharp off his line to snuff out the danger. That was a warning Madrid respected. From there, they tightened the spacing between lines, raised the press, and began turning loose balls into possession and possession into chances.
Rodrygo, handed a start with Vinícius on the bench, had the first real look—shaping a shot to the far post and forcing an alert stop from Joan Femenías Escandell. The pattern set quickly: Madrid patient in the first and second phases, then sudden and vertical through the front three. Federico Mastantuono, the teenager trusted in a forward-leaning role, helped trigger the press in the 15th minute, pinching in to nick the ball and spring a quick move that ended with Fede Valverde whipping a cross toward Mbappé. Dani Calvo read it perfectly and cut it out, a reminder that Oviedo were tuned in defensively.
The opener came on 37 minutes and felt inevitable because of the buildup. Arda Güler, floating into the pocket between Oviedo’s midfield and back line, threaded a pass across the grain. Mbappé’s first touch cushioned the ball away from pressure, the second touch rolled the ball out of his feet, and the finish was pure—low into the far corner, beyond Escandell’s reach. Madrid didn’t force the game after that. They managed it.
After the break, Oviedo tried to step higher and disrupt Madrid’s rhythm. That opened lanes in transition. Mbappé almost doubled the lead on a quick break, only for Escandell to throw out a strong hand. Rodrygo kept forcing the issue with diagonal runs, but the second goal didn’t arrive until late. On 83 minutes, Mbappé struck again, mirroring the first: controlled movement, a simple angle, and a low, unerring finish into the bottom corner.
With the result safe, Xabi Alonso turned to Vinícius Júnior for the final stretch. The Brazilian looked fresh and decisive. In stoppage time he popped up in the center of the box at the end of a neat counter, took the chance on his right foot, and made it three. Somewhere in between, Escandell denied Mbappé a hat-trick with a reflex save that deserved the applause it got from the home stands.
The clean sheet matters as much as the goals. Madrid have been stung on the road in recent seasons by moments of lapse—one long ball, one second phase, one set-piece. Here, they dealt with Oviedo’s directness early, then squeezed the flanks to cut off switches and second runs. Courtois was authoritative. The back line won first contacts and, just as importantly, the midfield hoovered up the seconds.
Tactics, selections, and what this win tells us
Alonso’s selection called attention before kickoff. Resting Vinícius from the start in a hostile away ground is a bold way to say rotations aren’t a punishment; they’re policy. Rodrygo’s inclusion changed the picture of Madrid’s left side—more inside cuts, more give-and-go combinations, less direct dribbling. That helped Güler operate between lines with space to receive and turn.
Madrid’s shape morphed in and out of possession. Without the ball, the front three pressed on a cue—usually a backward pass or a heavy touch from Oviedo’s full-backs—with Mastantuono leading the counter-press sprint to collapse the center. With the ball, Valverde drove the team forward, often opening the lane that Güler exploited to feed Mbappé. The first goal came straight out of that connection.
Mbappé’s movement did the silent work. He stayed just off the shoulder of the right center-back, then peeled into the half-space when the ball arrived at Güler’s feet. That small drift dragged the line, created the passing lane, and gave him the angle for the finish. The second goal came from a similar pattern, which is exactly what Madrid wanted: repeatable, high-value actions rather than hopeful crosses.
Oviedo had their moments. The early long ball was smart, and Dani Calvo’s interventions kept the scoreline manageable deep into the second half. Escandell made the kind of saves that usually tilt tight games. But they struggled to chain passes through Madrid’s press, and when the home side stretched to chase the equalizer, the spaces behind their full-backs became a runway for Madrid’s pace.
Beyond the scoreline, there were a few clear takeaways from Madrid’s second league win:
- Güler as the creative hub worked, especially with Rodrygo’s inside runs clearing the corridor.
- Mastantuono’s off-ball energy fits Alonso’s pressing rules; the teenager looked fearless without forcing the play.
- Courtous’ early intervention set the tone, and the back line stayed switched on to Oviedo’s direct balls.
- Vinícius’ late cameo reminded everyone why rotations are a luxury: fresh legs ending the contest.
For Alonso, it’s the balance that stands out. Two games, two wins, and no rush to crown a system. He managed minutes, protected the middle of the pitch, and let frontline talent decide the match. The decision to bench Vinícius from the start will make headlines, but the bigger story is the trust across the squad. Madrid have options now, and they’re being used.
In the table, the result matters in a different way. Villarreal lead on goal difference, with Real Sociedad also in the early pack, but Madrid haven’t dropped a point. In August that’s more about tone than trophies. Win your away games, keep your best players healthy, and make the margins look ordinary—that’s how title runs start.
The schedule will ask more questions soon, especially with midweek fixtures looming and top-half opponents to follow. For now, Madrid leave Asturias with three goals, a clean sheet, and a calm sense that the plan is taking hold. The Mbappé-Güler understanding looks natural. The rotations are purposeful. And the defense, so often a talking point on the road, looked secure when it mattered most.
