In round 6 of La Liga on the evening of September 21, Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 4-1 at Bernabeu thanks to goals from Carvajal, Vinicius, Mbappe and Rodrygo.
Against the underdog Espanyol, Real Madrid fielded a lineup that was not their strongest. Arda Guler started in attack instead of Vinicius, which made the “White Vultures” quite stuck.
Real Madrid did not create many chances in the first half, when Espanyol put all their squad into defense. The first 45 minutes ended in a 0-0 draw and right at the beginning of the second half, Ancelotti’s team conceded a goal.
In the 54th minute, Jofre Carreras crossed the ball inside for his teammate and in an attempt to block it, goalkeeper Thibaut Coutois let the ball hit his foot and fly straight into the net, helping Espanyol lead 1-0.
Coach Ancelotti sent Vinicius onto the field and Real Madrid attacked relentlessly. In the 58th minute, Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia could not stop Jude Bellingham’s cross and Carvajal easily tapped the ball into an empty net to tie the score at 1-1.
In the 75th minute, Vinicius made a perfect assist for Rodrygo to easily tap the ball into the net from close range, putting Real Madrid ahead 2-1. Three minutes later, Vinicius put his name on the scoreboard when he ran up and finished accurately after a pass from Mbappe.
With just 3 minutes left in the match, Endrick was fouled by an Espanyol defender in the penalty area. Mbappe made no mistake in beating goalkeeper Joan Garcia from the penalty spot, sealing a 4-1 victory for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid moved up to second place in La Liga with 14 points after 6 matches, one point behind Barcelona. Barcelona will play round 6 of La Liga with an away match at Villarreal tonight (September 22).
Line-up
Real Madrid : Courtois, Carvajal (Vazquez 60′), Militao, Tchouameni, Fran Garcia, Valverde, Modric, Bellingham (Rudiger 84′), Rodrygo (Endrick 84′), Guler (Vinicius 55′), Mbappe.
Goals: Carvajal (58′), Rodrygo (75′), Vinicius (78′), Mbappe (90′-pen).
Espanyol : Joan Garcia, Carlos Romero, Cabrera, Kumbulla, El Hilali, Tejero (Aguado 76′), Kral, Pol Lozano (Gragera 67′), Carreras (Cardona 76′), Javi Puado (Milla 81′), Cheddira (Veliz 46′).
Goal: Courtois (54′ own goal).
