Real Madrid beat Villarreal 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night to get back to winning ways in La Liga. A brace from Vinicius Jr, followed by a Kylian Mbappe goal, made sure the team bounced back after the gut-wrenching defeat to Atletico Madrid just one week ago. 3 Observations from Real Madrid’s 3-1 win vs Villarreal

Here are three very quick observations from the win:

Mastantuono did not register a goal or an assist during the game against Villarreal on Saturday, but he managed to do everything else just fine.

He is one of the difference makers on this team, irrespective of his goal contributions, at least for now, simply because he makes things happen. Mastantuono tries to do a lot. He tries to link up with other players well when there’s a need. He tries to be a positive passer. He creates chances for his teammates. He takes risks. There are a lot of intangibles that are right with Mastantuono’s performances at the moment, and once his raw technique and abilities are polished, he will be an even better player.

The best thing about Mastantuono is his relentlessness. It does not matter to him if a pass is unsuccessful. If there is an opportunity, he will try again. Sometimes, that would be to his own detriment, but that is also what you expect from an 18-year-old.

The other thing worth noting about the Argentine talent is his defensive commitment. The minute the team loses the ball, he is on the run to track back and help them defensively. Whenever Mastantuono messes up a pass or a dribble, he is the first person tracking back in order to mop it up. Those are things you do not get with 18-year-olds. It is surprising to see so much commitment from the player on both ends this early into his Real Madrid career, and it was on public display against Villarreal.

Real Madrid’s second-half performance was strong on the offensive end, and it got the job done for them with three good goals from their star attackers. However, the first half seemed to be a bit more worrying.

It seemed like a drag. Real Madrid were facing a very patient and defensive version of Villarreal who did not offer loads of space in their third. And Real Madrid struggled. It was similar to one of the ways they struggled in the Madrid derby the other day — lack of ideas and chances in the final third to really open up the opposition’s defense.

It is also worth noting that Real Madrid looked a very similar version of themselves from last year on Saturday night — at least for a few minutes when they were trying to break down Villarreal’s low block.

Alonso used to have difficulties breaking down these sorts of systems in his Bayer Leverkusen days as well, so it was something attention-grabbing.

There is also a conversation worth having about Real Madrid’s off-ball movement. There was not enough of it in the half-spaces apart from Mastantuono. There weren’t enough overlaps by the full-backs in the first half, which made it difficult for the team to break down their defence.

Many of these things changed in the second half, which is how Real Madrid made it an open game. However, it was worth noting that the problems from last year still persist in the mannerisms of these football players, and it will take some time for them to be fully eradicated from their system.

A lot of controversy surrounded the least-controversial player in Real Madrid’s squad last week. Fede Valverde was under the spotlight after a no-context video of him stopping his warm-up sparked so much debate on social media that he had to put out a statement about never refusing to play for the club.

I believe him. Valverde has always seemed like he is ready to go to war for this club, and even though he has not performed well this season, that does not mean he would refuse to play at a position he does not usually play at.

Playing as a right-back is not always the best portrayal of the Uruguayan’s abilities as a footballer, but he made sure he left everything on the pitch for the club he loves. And in doing so, he gave his best shift of the season so far.

Valverde’s passing was brilliant, as he created so many chances through slick passes from the right flank. His defending — although there was not much to do — was crisp and solid, and it made sure no threat came from his flank.

Valverde left out two key passes, four crosses, four long balls, four tackles, two interceptions and plenty of heart on the pitch. Wearing the captain’s armband, you wouldn’t expect any less.

The game was deadlocked in the early stages, but Real began to pile on the pressure as the clock ticked past 20 minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni rose to meet a cross, but his header drifted just wide of the post.

Moments later, Mbappe pounced on a loose pass as the visitor tried to play out from the back. The Frenchman squared the ball to Franco Mastantuono, whose shot from point-blank range was deflected over the bar by defender Renato Veiga.

Villarreal also had chances in the first half as Tani Oluwaseyi broke into the box and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who produced a sprawling save.

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Xabi Alonso’s Real side eventually broke the deadlock just after the break when Vinicius pickhttps://rkvacancy.com/indias-rohit-sharma-to-be-replaced-by-shubman-gill-as-odi-captain/ed up the ball near the left byline, drove into the box and squeezed a shot in from a tight angle that deflected off Villarreal midfielder Santi Comesana.

The Brazilian forward doubled his tally from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, having been brought down by Rafa Marin, with his effort just squeezing under goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.

However, four minutes later, Villarreal proved it had come to the Santiago Bernabeu to fight as Georges Mikautadze pulled one back with a low strike from the edge of the box.

The drama continued in the 77th when Villarreal defender Santiago Mourino was sent off after a second booking for a foul on Vinicius, leaving the visitor on the back foot.

The impact was immediate as Mbappe scored Real’s third in the 80th minute after Brahim Diaz broke through and laid the ball back for the striker to complete the victory.