Consistently denied a spot in the side by the brilliance of Jude Bellingham, Brahim Diaz has been waiting for his chance to impress. On Wednesday night, with Bellingham rested, he took it. The Spaniard bagged a goal, was unfortunate to see another ruled out, and pulled the strings in the Englishman’s usual role as Los Blancos cruised to a 3-0 win over Braga.
The visitors were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead early, when Lucas Vazquez dragged Cristian Borja down in the box — only for reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to keep out the ensuing penalty.
Diaz thought he had opened the scoring shortly after, but saw his calm finish ruled out for a foul in the build up. There was nothing wrong with the next time he had the ball in the net, though. The attacking midfielder ghosted into the box to meet Rodrygo’s cutback, and handed his side a deserved 1-0 lead.
He should have made it two in the second half, but was brilliantly denied from close range by Matheus. Vinicius made no such mistake after 58 minutes, slotting home to complete a smooth counter-attack. Rodrygo added a third two minutes later, receiving Vinicius’ pass in stride and delightfully chipping over Matheus, sealing a comfortable win.
90minsoccer rates Real Madrid’s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
Andriy Lunin
Called in for the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga at the last minute. Did well to save the Braga penalty. Will be happy to keep the clean sheet.
Lucas Vazquez
Gave up a pen and was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow. Not his best night.
Antonio Rudiger
Covered spaces in behind effectively. Did a lot of running for the ageing Nacho. Won a few tackles.
Nacho
Involved heavily throughout. Went about his defensive work well.
Ferland Mendy
Handed a rare start. Solid defensively, and contributed going forward. Nearly nicked a goal in the first half, too.
Eduardo Camavinga
Snappy in tackles and tidy in possession. Survived an injury scare early in the second half.
Federico Valverde
Dangerous down the right channel. Had a few dangerous efforts blocked. A real return to form.
Toni Kroos
This was the perfect kind of game for him: low tempo, space to ping it around, not much defensive work to do. He was as controlled as you’d expect.
Brahim Diaz
Deployed in the Bellingham role. And there wasn’t much, if any, drop-off. Diaz scored the opener, had one disallowed, and was key in the other two goals. Took his chance with aplomb.
Rodrygo
Produced a fine piece of skill and pass to set up Madrid’s first. Took the third wonderfully. Two in two in the UCL — he now needs to do it domestically.
Vinicius Jr
A loose touch cost him a clear goalscoring opportunity early on. Was immense thereafter, creating problems with his running and creativity. Set up one and scored one to round off an electric night.
Luka Modric
A masterful cameo, as you’d expect.
Dani Carvajal
Scampered up the right flank with his usual vigour.
Nico Paz
Lively on his debut.
Joselu
Got into good areas, made life awkward for defenders.
Fran Garcia
No time to make an impact.
Carlo Ancelotti
Made a few changes, and trusted Diaz with Bellingham absent. It mostly worked out, with his side looking relatively comfortable throughout — early penalty notwithstanding. He will be glad to see Rodrygo back among the goals, too. Qualification sorted.
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