Two goals from Karim Benzema in the 88th and 100th minutes saw Real Madrid eke out a late 3-1 win at Espanyol on Sunday night. Vinicius Junior scored the visitors’ opener, before Joselu levelled the scoring.
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The victory puts Madrid on top of the LaLiga table, with eternal rivals Barcelona trailing by two points in third place.
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Rapid Reaction
1. Tchouameni looking at home
This was another game — the second in a row — in which Aurelien Tchouameni has looked a worthy successor to Casemiro in Real Madrid’s midfield. In fact, his assist for the opener — a clever through-ball which set Vinicius away to slot past goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte — was a sign that Tchouameni is actually an upgrade when it comes to attacking contributions.
They occupy the same position in the team — this was the first time Tchouameni had started alongside both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric — but the youngster is keener and quicker to get forward. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has already recognised as much.
“He gets into the box,” the Madrid manager said last week. “I won’t tell him to play like Casemiro.”
Tchouameni’s pass completion was also exceptional here, finishing at 94%.
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Like the rest of the team, he found the second half more difficult as Espanyol increased the tempo, but the early signs are good. Casemiro hasn’t been missed yet.
2. Defensive switch causes uncertainty
Ancelotti had been clear that last year’s double-winning central defensive pair, David Alaba and Eder Militao, would remain first choice as this campaign got underway. That left high-profile summer signing Antonio Rudiger having to make do so far with some unexpected cameos at full-back, and a start alongside Nacho in a rotated team on opening day.
Both Ancelotti and Alaba had said the Austria international would continue to be used in the middle unless in exceptional circumstances, so it was surprise here to see Rudiger alongside Militao, and Alaba moved out to left-back.
The call looked suspect when Rudiger and Militao were badly caught out for Joselu’s equaliser. A lack of shared game-time was evident as Rudiger stepped up as Militao played Joselu onside, and both failed to react when Joselu’s initial effort came back to him.
Having three centre-backs of such quality is a luxury, but this is one area of the pitch where consistency of selection is necessary to allow a reliable, error-free partnership to flourish.
Key stats (provided by ESPN Stats & Information)
Real Madrid extended their unbeaten streak when scoring first in LaLiga, up to 35 matches, the most in the league.
Joselu’s goal was his seventh in nine career LaLiga matches against Real Madrid. Incredibly, Los Blancos are the team he’s scored most against in league play.
Up next
Real Madrid: Los Blancos host Real Betis Saturday, Sept. 3 at 10:15 a.m. ET (stream live on ESPN+), and then host Mallorca at 3 p.m. ET on Sept. 10.
Espanyol: Los Periquitos head to Bilbao on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 10:15 a.m. ET (stream live on ESPN+) and then they host Sevilla at 10:15 a.m. ET on Sept. 10.
