Real Madrid Still Lacking Goals

MADRID, SUNDAY — There is no easy path for Real Madrid to achieve victory in their first three matches of La Liga. All victories must be hard-earned, including the match against Real Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday (31/8/2025) early morning WIB. Despite dominating the game, Real could only secure a narrow 2-1 win.

In this third match, Real is already on the right track. "Los Blancos" played attractively by combining long and short passes to break through Mallorca's tight defense. Real was more dominant, taking 17 shots, seven of which were on target. However, Xabi Alonso's efforts to sharpen the attacking line were hindered by the referee's decision to annul three of the team's goals.

Three goals by Real were disallowed, scored by Kylian Mbappe (2 goals) and Arda Guler. Mbappe was unfortunate as he fell victim to the offside trap set by Mallorca's defenders twice. To mitigate Real's aggression, Mallorca's Coach, Jagoba Arrasate, made an extreme change by employing a 5-3-2 formation or five defenders. Previously, Arrasate was fond of using a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The change from a four-defender system to a three-defender system is intended to limit the movement of Real's agile wingers, Vinicius Junior and Franco Mastantuono. The five defenders adeptly implemented an offside trap that troubled Mbappe. Had he not been caught offside, Real could have taken the lead just five minutes into the match, and the outcome of the game might have been very different.

On the other hand, Mbappe is once again struggling against opponents who employ an offside trap. A similar situation occurred last season when he faced Barcelona. In that match, Mbappe was caught offside eight times, marking the highest number of offsides in a single match in La Liga since 2009.

"He (Mbappe) is always a threat to opponents and creates many opportunities. His offside issues can be improved thanks to his extraordinary ability to deceive his markers and finish. I am not too worried that he did not score today. He scored against Osasuna and netted two goals in Oviedo," said Alonso as quoted from the Real website.

In this match, Alonso once again rotated the initial lineup. This indicates that Alonso is still searching for his ideal starting formation. This time, the rotation targeted the defensive and attacking lines. In the defensive line, Alonso once again entrusted Trent Alexander-Arnold to replace Dani Carvajal.

Meanwhile, Eder Militao is preferred over Antonio Ruediger. Trent responds to Alonso's trust by delivering dangerous long crosses, which is his specialty. One of his crosses resulted in a goal by Mbappe that was disallowed.

The rotation in the attacking line demonstrates Alonso's ambition to enhance his team's productivity. Alonso selected Vinicius on the left wing to replace Rodrygo. Thus, Real began the match with a lethal trio: Mbappe, Vinicius, and Franco Mastantuono.

The victory over Mallorca further solidifies Real's position at the top of the standings with a nine-point lead. This result also serves as a good foundation for Real before entering the international break next week.

"We had to start the first match of the season with three victories, and we managed to do that. We have just begun the season, and we have raised our level in every match. We must continue like this, winning more matches," said Real midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

The French national team midfielder stated that there are still many aspects that need to be improved and evaluated regarding his team's performance. The efforts of Real to score more goals, said Tchouameni, have been evident but have still been unfortunate due to Mbappe's offside and Arda Guler's handball.

"We have just started, and we clearly need to improve in every aspect. We have won the first three matches, and we are very happy. Nine points from those three matches are important," he stated.

Meanwhile, Mallorca midfielder Manu Morlanes stated that his team displayed character despite failing to secure full points. Morlanes assessed that Mallorca's performance was significantly better compared to when they lost to Barcelona and drew with Celta Vigo.

"We had several opportunities to score, but we need luck, and we were still unfortunate in some of the chances we had. We performed stronger; we must improve what was lacking and make today's match a turning point for the future," said Morlanes as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.