Racing came out to press at home and left the space behind. Madrid were 3–0 up after 36 minutes, with Güler running the right side and Bellingham arriving from midfield.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | Racing de Santander | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 54% | 46% |
| Shots | 22 | 10 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 1 |
| xG | 3.36 | 0.97 |
| Touches in opp. box | 47 | 22 |
| Corners | 6 | 4 |
| Fouls | 8 | 10 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 82% / 11% / Racing de Santander 7% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Tchouaméni, Güler, Bellingham, Diomande, Mbappé.
Racing de Santander (4-2-3-1): Agirrezabala, Mantilla, Pablo Ramón, Belocian, Aarón Martín, Iván Martin, Prati, Luque, Canales, Vicente, Zabiri.
Racing Santander subs: Pedro Felipe (29', for Mantilla, injured after a challenge with Cucurella), Sainz-Maza (60', Pablo Ramón), Pablo García (61', Zabiri), Almeida & Guliashvili (82', for Iván Martin & Vicente). Racing coach: José Alberto López.
Goal minutes, line-ups and subs from LaLiga and FotMob, which agree except that FotMob has Sainz-Maza on at 61'. Booked: Belocian (34' in LaLiga, 29' in FotMob) and Luque (45+1' in LaLiga, 45+4' in FotMob). At 72' Munuera Montero gave Racing a penalty for a Tchouaméni handball and overturned it after a VAR review (LaLiga; Real Madrid has 71'). Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in added time (Real Madrid). Shots on target from SI. FotMob's player of the match: Bellingham (9.0). Attendance 22,892 (LaLiga).
Key moments, move by move
- Mbappé runs at the Racing box.
- Prati's challenge brings him down, and Munuera Montero points to the spot.
- Mbappé sends the penalty low into the bottom left corner.
- Mbappé drops into the centre circle and lays the ball off to Güler.
- Güler plays a through ball behind Racing's back line.
- Bellingham, running from midfield, gets there first.
- He goes round Agirrezabala and finishes with his right foot.
- Madrid take a corner, and Racing only clear it as far as the edge of the box.
- The loose ball drops to Diomande.
- He volleys it first time with his right foot into the top left corner.
Racing pressed high, and Madrid went through them and behind them
- Two changes, same shape: Courtois came back after flu and Alexander-Arnold replaced the injured Valverde at right-back. Otherwise it was the Clásico XI in a 4-2-3-1, with Bernardo Silva and Tchouaméni in the pivot (FotMob). Mourinho said Alexander-Arnold, who had not played for a few games, had "an optimal, very balanced game" (Real Madrid).
- Racing came at them: José Alberto's side pressed high and aggressively at home, and SI's verdict was that it left space behind them. Madrid had 54% of the ball and 47 touches in Racing's box to 22 (FotMob). José Alberto said Madrid "dominated us in the first half hour" (Goal).
- The right side and the runner: Alexander-Arnold held the width and Güler roamed inside (SI); Bernardo Silva drifted into the half-spaces (Goal, via Yahoo Sports). The 21' goal came from Mbappé dropping to lay it off and Güler's ball behind for Bellingham, who had already headed at goal at 10' (Real Madrid). FotMob rated Bellingham 9.0 and Güler 8.5.
- No way back for Racing: Racing had 10 shots for 0.97 xG and one on target, Luque's at 13' (FotMob, SI). They had three shots in the first ten minutes after half-time, as many as in the whole first half (SI), and the 72' penalty was overturned by VAR (LaLiga). Madrid hit the post through Güler at 7' and Mbappé at 60' and finished with 3.36 xG (FotMob).
Tactical scenes
Güler started on the right but came inside, while Alexander-Arnold held the width (SI). At 7' Alexander-Arnold's pass found Güler, whose first-time shot hit the post; at 10' Güler crossed for Bellingham's header; at 21' his through ball made the second goal (Real Madrid). Bernardo Silva drifted into the right half-space to add a third player (Goal, via Yahoo Sports).
Evidence: Güler was in five of Madrid's first-half chances and goals in the official logs: the post at 7', the cross for Bellingham's header at 10', the assist at 21' and shots saved at 24' and 41' (Real Madrid, LaLiga). FotMob rated him 8.5. LaLiga match centre · Real Madrid match report · FotMob match page
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Mourinho's right-side overload at El Sardinero · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Mourinho's right-side overload at El Sardinero
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Alexander-Arnold | Wing-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Konaté | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Huijsen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Cucurella | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Bernardo Silva | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Tchouaméni | Defensive Midfielder | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Güler | Wide Playmaker | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Bellingham | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Diomande | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Progress ThroughRight
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- TacklingEase Off
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 that overloads the right: a Wing-Back wide, a Wide Playmaker inside him and an Attacking Midfielder running beyond the striker. It needs a full-back who can pass and a No. 10 with the legs to arrive late.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce the soft penalty that put Madrid ahead, or the VAR call that took one away from Racing.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Endrick on at 65' (for Mbappé), Camavinga on at 60' (for Bernardo Silva). Keep the shape and the mid block that made 3.36 xG, and use the bench earlier to rest Mbappé and steady the midfield before Athens. The result stays the same. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 82% to 84% (xG 3.36–0.97 becomes 3.41–0.92). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Vinícius Jr
Racing pushed up and left space behind their back line (SI). Vinícius running at Mantilla's replacement from the 29th minute gives Madrid a second fast runner behind, alongside Bellingham's runs from midfield.
Virgil van Dijk
Madrid did not win much in the air at El Sardinero (Goal, via Yahoo Sports), and Racing's best route was crosses from Vicente. A centre-back who wins high balls at both ends deals with those crosses and adds a target at Madrid's six corners.
What the analysts said
“In the first half we were very strong. We came out to play well and with good judgement.”José Mourinho, post-match press conference (Real Madrid, translated from Spanish)
“It's a game you can win 4-0 or 5-0 with the chances we had in the second half, but it can also get complicated. If they score one, they get going.”José Mourinho (ElDesmarque, translated from Spanish)
“He comes in and plays an optimal, very well-balanced game.”José Mourinho, on Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid, translated from Spanish)
“No, not at 100%, but we are growing.”José Mourinho (ElDesmarque, translated from Spanish)
“For me it's obvious it wasn't a penalty.”José Mourinho, on the Tchouaméni handball (Real Madrid, translated from Spanish)
“I think the first goal, and that penalty incident, decided everything.”José Alberto López, Racing Santander coach (Goal, translated from Spanish)
Madrid had it won by the 36th minute, and this time they didn't sit deep.
What's happening. Madrid won 3–0 at El Sardinero, and all three goals came before half-time: Mbappé's penalty, Bellingham and Diomande. It is a sixth straight win in all competitions and Racing's first home defeat of the season. Courtois was back, Valverde was out injured, and Alexander-Arnold played the full game at right-back.
How it works. A home side that presses high gets close to the ball, but it leaves its back line alone. One pass past the first line, and the space is behind the defence. Madrid found that pass from their right side: Alexander-Arnold stayed wide, Güler came inside, and Racing's left side had two players to watch. A midfielder running from deep, like Bellingham, is the hardest runner for a high line to track. The cost of a roaming winger is defending: Vicente still got crosses in.
What the shots say. FotMob gives Madrid more than three goals' worth of chances to Racing's one, their third-best figure of the season. One reading: a clean away win, with the chances to match the score. The other: the opener was a penalty that Racing and several reports thought soft, and a side that comes forward makes Madrid's game easy. The harder test is an opponent that sits deep.