Three questions and three answers from Real Madrid 4-0 Osasuna

Real Madrid enjoyed a bittersweet afternoon on Saturday as they lost three players to injury in the first-half, but emerged with a comfortable victory courtesy of a Vinícius Júnior hat-trick and a Jude Bellingham chip. A serious injury to Éder Militão, as well as muscle problems for Rodrygo and Lucas Vázquez, are a major worry, but Vini made fans at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu put those concerns to the back of their minds as he scored one powerful effort, and two tap-ins, one after rounding Sergio Herrera as part of a rapid counter-attack.

Three answers

1. What is Carlo Ancelotti’s “solution”?

Carlo Ancelotti was adamant in his pre-match press conference on Friday that he had found a solution to the teams problems, explaining that, “obviously we have talked, we have analysed the situation. We think we have found the solution, but it must be seen in practice”. That opened the door to possible tactical experiments, fuelled further by MARCA’s reports that Ferland Mendy had been used as a holding midfielder in training this week, but the end result was that the team was no different to what had been expected. Rodrygo Goes returned on the right flank of a 4-3-3, but which looked more like a 4-4-2 at times, with Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé both operating centrally. What did catch Osasuna out was the speed at which Real Madrid launched their attacks, showing no hesitation to go direct and route one to launch balls over the top and look to beat Osasuna for pace. It was exactly that which set up the second and third goals.

2. Would Rodrygo Goes make the most of his chance?

The big change to the side in terms of personnel for this game was the return of Rodrygo Goes, making his first start since the 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund. The Brazilian had looked energetic and been effective in dropping deep defensively to track, but his return would last only 19 minutes as he pulled up with what seemed to be a thigh problem. Limping off the field, he was replaced by Brahim Díaz who was a direct replacement on the right flank and maintained the same role in the system. Rodrygo now looks set to spend another spell on the sidelines in what is looking to be an incredibly frustrating season for the Brazilian, and he’ll class this one as a missed opportunity after being given a chance to start and show what he’s capable of.

3. When will Vinícius Júnior show his reaction to the Ballon d’Or snub?

On Saturday against Osasuna. This was a top class performance from Vinícius Júnior who produced a complete display to show exactly what he’s capable of. The opening goal was one of persistence, intelligence to catch out Sergio Herrera at his near post, and excellent finishing to break the deadlock. The second showed great skill not only to time his run perfectly at breakneck speed, but also to round Herrera and add a no-look finish. The third was a simple tap-in but fruit of a press from Brahim Díaz supported by Vini himself. Real Madrid had not scored in open play in either of the last two games, and Vini hadn’t looked at his best in either game, but it was evident that he was a man with a point to prove at the Bernabéu on Saturday.

Three questions

1. Who will play in central defence?

If the options were limited before, they’ve now been decimated. Éder Militão looks certain to face a long lay-off and we could be lucky to see him again this season. David Alaba is still some way off a return. Even the back-up options are out. Aurélien Tchouameni is likely out for the rest of this calendar year. Dani Carvajal is out for the season. That leaves Real Madrid with only Antonio Rüdiger, whose minutes have been managed this season due to an ongoing knee issue, and Jesús Vallejo in the first team squad. Vallejo has only played 10 minutes this season and the team conceded twice with him on the pitch, and it seems unlikely we’ll see much more of him. Castilla player Raúl Asencio was called upon against Osasuna, and Ancelotti seemed to consider Ferland Mendy, sending both players to warm up before eventually bringing on Asencio.

2. Is there a bigger issue behind these injuries?

To lose both Rodrygo Goes and Éder Militão to injuries in the first half was a concerning sight, and it wasn’t helped when Lucas Vázquez also went down with a muscle problem and was forced off at half-time. That takes the number of injuries up to seven, including three muscle injuries. That means questions should be asked of Real Madrid’s medical and fitness staff about the preparations that players are going through. There will always be cases like that of Dani Carvajal which are pure bad luck, but something could be done to reduce risks. Éder Militão has played all but two games from the start this season, coming on in both of those games, and only returned from an ACL injury in his other leg in April. Warm up preparations should also be looked at given the muscle injuries to two players in the first half. With such limited squad depth, every injury hurts Real Madrid.

3. How important could that goal be for Jude Bellingham?

At last, Jude Bellingham scored his first goal of the season for Real Madrid. Having hit the ground running at Usain Bolt level speeds last season, his changing role has meant that his contribution this season has had very little in common with his impressive goal tally from the 2023/24 campaign. On Saturday, he opened his account with the kind of composed finish that he became known for last season, delicately chipping past Sergio Herrera after a superb assist from Raúl Asencio. With Bellingham. seemingly benefitting from more attacking license to roam forward in the past few games, this could be the goal that opens the tap and allows him to find his goalscoring boots again.