Three observations from Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Espanyol

Real Madrid beat Espanyol 4-1 with goals coming from Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe in a very entertaining game. Here are three quick observations from the night at the Bernabeu.

Endrick is the perfect option to have off the bench

In only a few appearances, Endrick has proven to be an emphatic option to have off the bench, as he has changed the outcome, or, at least solidified it, on so many occasions this season. It has been seven games.

There are so many qualities the kid boasts that make him such a viable option to bring off the bench. An 18-year-old usually has problems dealing with the fact that he is at Real Madrid, and is slowly integrated into the first team, kind of like the way Arda Guler was last season (though the talent was never a problem).

With Endrick, he has been given some opportunities off the bench, and he has taken them ferociously with both hands. What I like about Endrick is that he is a perfect ‘moments’ player — a player who is not at his technical peak, but knows how to make his presence known, and knows how to get involved in some sort of way to change the game.

Real Madrid have always had those sorts of players — last season, in a way, it was Joselu — and now, Endrick has become a multi dimensional version of it: In just 31 combined minutes, he has already scored two goals and won a penalty. Even if Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t think Endrick is a starter, the coach knows what he has on the bench. It gives him confidence to keep using Endrick as a valuable bench option until he blossoms into something we all know he can be.

One other thing I like about Endrick is his relentlessness. Similar to Vinicius and Brahim, he is a player who loves to be on the ball, and will do whatever it takes to get to it, and will keep trying even after failure. Combine that with his incredible physical attributes, and you’ve got yourself a beast. He powered his way through the defender to get that penalty; there aren’t many players who’d be able to do what Endrick did.

Real Madrid’s build-up has improved steadily

It’s not often this season we praise Real Madrid for their style of play. They haven’t hit their strides yet, and that is fine because we know the potential of this team once they do. We saw glimpses of that in the game against Espanyol, which seems like a good thing.

It was, by far, the best first-half performance Real Madrid have shown this season. They moved the ball around fluidly, it wasn’t forced, which has been the case for a while. It didn’t seem like Real Madrid are playing this football without any intent or ideas, and it went from point A to point B very quickly. Rock and roll football, as Ancelotti put it.

Los Blancos had Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler in and around the midfield, who were acting as the creative hub for the other two forwards. There was a lot of fluid positional interchangeability, and a number of quick passes in and around the box, which led to more space opening up for the team. On another day, Real Madrid would’ve put five past Espanyol in the first half alone.

All this was good and encouraging to see. It’s been a while since Real Madrid have had this sort of dominance on the pitch, and it seems like that’s something they’ll try to improve even further in future games.

Vinicius Jr, game-changer

After my tactical analysis, rewatching the game 30 times, and using a magnifying glass, I have come to the conclusion that Vinicius Jr is quite good at football.

Jokes aside, Vinicius Jr, on his day, is unplayable. And against Espanyol, on Saturday, it was his day. Real Madrid scored to make it 1-1, and Vinicius came on to have an instant impact on the way the game was played — getting a goal and an assist a few minutes after he came on. The game went from getting a bit tense to not being close at all just because of one man.

The way he commanded the left-wing, and oozed past countless Espanyol players — who tried everything they could to stop him, but could only watch with a mixture of awe and envy — made him seem like a man on a mission.

When he’s in the mood, Vinicius Jr has no equal.

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