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Features Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad | La Liga MD1 Real Madrid’s matchday 1 fixture in La Liga was postponed given the large number of internationals and their late return after the FIFA World Cup, and the team directly played their second match day clash at the weekend against Espanyol. Their deferred matchday 1 clash is now set to be played midweek, and Real Madrid will be playing host to Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu for the same. La Real kicked off their new league season in disappointing fashion, losing 1-0 to Real Betis away from home. Having not even enjoyed a great league campaign last season, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men will be keen on opening their account for the season tomorrow and gaining some momentum. Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad. Back to the fortress Over three months have elapsed since Real Madrid’s last game at the Santiago Bernabeu which came against Athletic Club de Bilbao in late May. On that night, Los Blancos had a certain Alvaro Arbeloa on the sidelines in what ended up being his final game as the Real Madrid manager. Dani Carvajal captained the team and bid farewell to the club of his dreams on that night, as did Dani Ceballos who came on as a substitute. A lot has changed since that fateful day. Tomorrow, the men in white return to the grass at the Bernabeu, and there will be a lot for the fans to process in terms of how the team has been upgraded. For starters, the clash tomorrow night marks Jose Mourinho’s first game at the Bernabeu back as the Real Madrid manager, and it will be interesting to see how the crowd welcome the ‘Special One’. Concurrently, the crowd will also witness the new signings taking to the field at the historic venue for the first time. Marc Cucurella, Real Madrid’s only representative from the World Cup-winning Spanish national team, will be welcomed as a new player by the club faithful while Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi, Ibrahima Konate and Yan Diomande will also look to impress the Bernabeu in their first appearances there. A lot of the storylines ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Real Sociedad, thus, revolve around the new-look team returning home for the first time and how the fans will receive them. Focus on Vinicius and Mbappe Both Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe started at the RCDE Stadium during Real Madrid’s game against Espanyol last weekend. Neither player, however, managed to leave their mark. Both players cut out frustrated figures on the night, albeit for different reasons, and looked like a shadow of their best versions. As the talismans of this Real Madrid side, however, they do not have the liberty to continue that for long. Mbappe struggled to finish off his chances against the Catalan side and made nothing of an xG of 1.53. Needless to say, that is uncharacteristic of him and it remains unclear if the player was not match-fit or had an off-day. Vinicius, meanwhile, was nowhere close to influential and created no direct or indirect goalscoring opportunities. His dribbles did not carry their usual flair and his link-up play was uncharacteristically poor. Beyond the fact that both players had individually poor nights, they also showed no signs of synergy or understanding between each other. At this one, it is beginning to look like both players are threatened by the other instead of using their presence to get to the next level. One of the biggest factors behind bringing in Jose Mourinho was the manager’s experience and ability to bring the best out of players keeping their egos aside. As Real Madrid prepare to step onto the field tomorrow night, it is clear that there will be extra focus on Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr., both on an individual level and as a duo working towards a common objective. The Diomande dilemma Yan Diomande’s transfer to Real Madrid broke several club records as he became the team’s costliest ever transfer in history. With that price tag, however, also comes great expectation – one of which is that the player must be a regular starter and contributor. For all the hype around Diomande, however, Mourinho started the player on the bench at the weekend and placed Arda Guler in his place instead. Not only did the Turkish star have a good game but he was even the team’s best player by some distance as a creative force and controlling presence. To add to the situation, Diomande’s cameo after coming on for Guler against Espanyol was woeful and showed no signs of promise. It thus remains to be seen if Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho reward Guler for his strong showing tomorrow or buy into Diomande’s price tag and see it as fitting for the new signing to start. After all, removing Guler from the lineup strips the team of their only creative powerhouse, but keeping the Turk on the field denies them from fielding their record signing. Having both stars on the field together, meanwhile, is also complicated given that Jude Bellingham is non-negotiable as the attacking midfielder. Mourinho, thus, faces a dilemma that he must find a way out of soon. Features Three takeaways from Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid Real Madrid kicked off their new campaign with a win last night against Espanyol, but it was anything but comfortable. Jose Mourinho’s side were made to suffer in Barcelona against a spirited Espanyol side who came out all guns blazing to punish Los Blancos’ shaky defence. It was a special night in some senses as the likes of Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva, Carlos Espi and Ibrahima Konate all made their official debuts. Yet, it was also a night that showed that there is still a long way to go before Mourinho’s effects can be seen in the squad. After all, there was not much to celebrate on the night beyond the debuts and a few solid showings. Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid. Reminiscent of last season It’s as if the manager never changed. A new look Real Madrid took to the field last night against Espanyol, boasting of a fresh start and new ideas, but there was seemingly nothing different. In fact, had there been no knowledge of Jose Mourinho’s arrival, one would have definitely put their money on Alvaro Arbeloa still being at the helm going purely by how Real Madrid turned up last night. There were very clear complaints about Real Madrid’s lacunae last season, beginning from the unorganised defence and lack of creativity in midfield to the incoherent attack. The forwards were criticised for not participating in the press, and the team often left games late to win with individual brilliance. That was exactly what unfolded against Espanyol in Jose Mourinho’s first official game in charge of the club. Los Blancos’ defence last night was out of sync and often left large spaces for Espanyol to run into. The goal scored by the hosts was a testament to the same. In midfield, they once again lacked creativity and control, and it was evident throughout the buildup phase of the game. Barring a few moments of brilliance, the chance creation was limited and the team were left scrambling for a winner until the dying moments. In the end, it again required individual brilliance from Carlos Espi to seal the win, and Real Madrid just scraped past the finish line just as they did regularly last season. Vinicius and Mbappe fail to click As always, all eyes were on the team’s two star forwards last night as Real Madrid began the new season, especially after both shone at the FIFA World Cup with their respective nations. Both Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr started on the night, and there was hope that there would be an improvement in their synergy after the break. The signs the game left, however, were anything but encouraging as both players were far from their best and anything but in sync. Coming off a run of great form, Mbappe looked completely lost in front of goal and often took away chances that could have been well set up for his teammates. In 90 minutes, the Frenchman made nothing of an xG of 1.53, took a total of ten shots of which just three were on target and even missed two big chances. In that sense, it was a performance very uncharacteristic of Mbappe. Vinicius, meanwhile, was very disappointing on the flank as he racked up just one shot all game and completed a meagre nine accurate passes of 13 attempted in 90 minutes. He did complete three successful dribbles, but his success rate was under 50%. The player barely contributed to Real Madrid’s creativity, delivered no crosses and barely created any chances of importance. His synchrony with Mbappe, meanwhile, was nonexistent. At Real Madrid, it always is about the big names, and Jose Mourinho must bring the best out of the star duo soon. The signs from last night’s game are anything but promising, but there are indeed still early days. Guler and Bellingham shine As ironic as it is, Real Madrid’s best performers last night were in midfield despite the team lacking rhythm and control in the department. Arda Guler, in particular, was an absolute standout for Real Madrid on that front as he was seemingly everywhere on the field. The young Turk excelled on the ball with his creativity and picked out the right passes to unlock Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe. His press resistance also helped the team to some extent and he stood out with his defensive work rate as well. In 64 minutes, Guler produced three defensive contributions, won five ground duels and completed 93% of his passes. He also made a staggering seven key passes and earned an assist. His partner in the advanced midfield – Juve Bellingham, also produced a massive shift for the team and was one of the most confident and productive threats for the team in the final third. Not only did he score the team’s vital opener, but the Englishman made Espanyol’s box his own territory with two shots on target and one off the woodwork. He completed 93% of his passes, 100% of long passes and had two key passes against Espanyol. The midfield duo, in that sense, were the heart and soul of Real Madrid’s win and are seemingly undroppable in Mourinho’s system. It remains to be seen how the manager accommodates the team’s new record signing Yan Diomande with the duo in the coming days.