Real Madrid secured their place in the knockout play-off rounds of the Champions League with an impressive 5-1 win over RB Salzburg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 15-time winner and current defending champion had surprisingly lost three of their first six games and are therefore surprisingly close to the dreaded last eight of the league phase.
But a determined, energetic Madrid came storming out of the dressing room to put in an impressive performance, displaying all the drive and class you would expect from a team with players like Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior.
It was another Brazilian, Rodrygo, who got the party started for Madrid, opening the scoring after 23 minutes with a measured finish into the far corner. This particular goal was certain, but what followed from the tricky winger was absolutely spectacular. He cut in from the left and ran at Bellingham’s unmarked backheel ball to deliver a wonderful strike beyond Janis Blaswich’s outstretched glove.
Mbappe scored one of the easiest goals he will ever score in his Madrid career just after the break, robbing Blaswich of the ball before firing into an empty net before Vinicius chipped in with the first of his two goals.
The Ballon d’Or runner-up darted towards Luka Modric’s ball behind the full-back and showed tremendous speed to open the angle, firing an unstoppable shot inside into the far corner.
His second goal was the result of a lightning-quick counterattack that saw makeshift right-back Federico Valverde march through the middle of the park before putting the ball on a plate for the 24-year-old. A quick back and forth with the body and Vinicius shot through the goal, slipping effortlessly past Blaswich.
The only downside for Madrid was Thibaut Courtois losing his goal to Mads Bidstrup with five minutes left, but they have moved up to 16th in the Champions League table, just one point off the top eight.
*Reviews provided by FotMob
player | Reviews |
|---|---|
GK: Thibaut Courtois | 7.5/10 |
RB: Federico Valverde | 8.2/10 |
CB: Raul Asencio | 7.3/10 |
CB: Antonio Rüdiger | 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 |
AM: Jew Bellingham | 8.7/10 |
LM: Vinicius Junior | 9.0/10 |
ST: Kylian Mbappe | 7.9/10 |
SUB: David Alaba (64′ for Bellingham) | 6.2/10 |
SUB: Arda Güler (64′ for Ceballos) | 7.0/10 |
SUB: Endrick (71′ for Rodrygo) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Brahim Diaz (71′ for Mbappe) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Jacobo Ramon (78th for Rüdiger) | 6.3/10 |
Unused Subs: Andriy Lunin (TW), Fran Gonzalez (TW), Fran Garcia, Jesus Vallejo, Aurelien Tchouameni, Chema Andres,