When the Brazilian Ballon d’Or favourite onto the pitch, Los Blancos’ stars seized front stage and set up an easy triumph.

Not many teams can bring a player so outstanding off the bench. And for Real Madrid, whose performance was somewhat poor, Vinicius Jr’s arrival was absolutely vital. After arriving on, the Brazilian was given a rare break but spurred Los Blancos to life and saw a 1-0 deficit turn into a 4-1 win, hiding yet another perplexing performance.

Dependent too much on Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham for inspiration, Los Blancos were a relatively passive side in the first half. The outcome was a dull game with few obvious opportunities produced by a careless Madrid.

Espanyol seized advantage ten minutes into the second half. Their opener was a comical event, a targeted hoof up the pitch from the custodian, into the path of Jofre Carreras, who sprinted down the flank and saw his speculative cross seep in via Thibaut Courtois’s tangled legs.

Los Blancos replied in four minutes. Once introduced on the hour mark, Vinicius served as the impetus for everything. He was vital in the run-up to the equaliser since Dani Carvajal smacked the ball home. He was even more crucial in the second, his trivela ball exactly falling to Rodrygo’s feet, who couldn’t miss for 2-1. Third he found the net himself, sprinting through the middle and burying a left-footed effort into the bottom corner before Mbappe buried a late fourth from the penalty mark.

Madrid was not particularly spectacular here. Still, Vinicius demonstrated that a very talented player added to a football game is eventually a winning tactic.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Thibaut Courtois (4/10):

Gave up a goal with a rare howler. Didn’t have much else to do.

Dani Carvajal (6/10):

Skinned in the run up to the opener, but then scored an equalising goal, before being subbed off. A strange evening.

Eder Militao (6/10):

Slightly shaky at times on the ball – he’s not quite back to his best after suffering a serious knee injury.

Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):

Given a run out in central defence, where he never really looked comfortable. Positionally a bit loose.

Fran Garcia (7/10):

Full of legs on the left, and made good on his license to get forward. Stung the keeper’s palms with a fine effort.

Midfield

Federico Valverde (7/10):

A dizzying, buzzing showing in central midfield. Won the ball back constantly. Isn’t a tempo-setter in the way Madrid need, though.

Luka Modric (6/10):

A rare sloppy performance in which he looked pretty leggy at times.

Jude Bellingham (6/10):

Dropped a bit deeper at times to account for Modric’s forward explorations. Did a lot of trying to dribble everyone. Could do with connecting play more.

Attack

Arda Guler (6/10):

Didn’t really have much of an involvement, but was rather harshly sacrificed for Vinicius when Los Blancos conceded.

Kylian Mbappe (7/10):

Lively throughout in a mostly central role. Scored the fourth and assisted the third. Should perhaps try passing the ball every now and then – it worked the one time he actually did it.

Rodrygo (8/10):

Deployed on the left at first, with Vinicius handed a rest. Didn’t do much on his own, but looked better when his national team-mate entered the fray. Scored the vital second.

Subs & Manager

Vinicius Jr (9/10):

Madrid scored within minutes of him coming on – and he played a role in the build up. Added an assist, and then a goal of his own. Deadly and magnificent, all at once.

Lucas Vazquez (6/10):

An extra body for a tired Carvajal. Didn’t do much wrong.

Endrick (7/10):

Won a penalty late on in pretty much his only involvement.

Toni Rudiger (N/A):

No time to make an impact.

Carlo Ancelotti (7/10):

Rotated pretty heavily, and didn’t start his “big four” up front. His team were fairly awful for an hour… and then he brought his best player off the bench. Sometimes it’s not exactly rocket science.