Real Madrid were relatively comfortable against Braga on Tuesday night, as they made it three wins from three with a 2-1 victory. Vinicius Junior grabbed two assists, while Jude Bellingham continued his excellent form, and Rodrygo Goes broke his goal drought in a satisfying night for Carlo Ancelotti.
Vinicius has struggled to find his best form this season, admitting that his Brazil form is ‘really bad’ earlier in the month. Ancelotti told Marca that he felt he was back to his best just in time for El Clasico.
“I think he has returned to his best level. He has given two assists, he has scored a goal… You can say that he made the difference in today’s game. They disallowed the goal by very little.”
Vinicius’ disallowed goal saw him move too early for a ball in behind, and subsequently ruled offside, but it was a sign that he is starting to get in behind defences more often. Ancelotti revealed that this was a deliberate tactic, which required the help of Bellingham.
“We wanted to put a line of four in the midfield. He sacrificed a lot on the left so that Vini is fresher in attack. He was dangerous, I don’t know how much ground he covered. We forced their pass back, the first goal came from that. They work well together with the ball. We have to improve in this, but they are both doing well.”
With the ball, Bellingham has been given carte blanche to operate almost as he sees fit, finding space and the goal from a deeper role. This defensive responsibility, if it is more of a permanent tactic, will prevent him from being as dangerous on the counter-attack as a goal threat, but Bellingham will be able to launch those counters. The majority of his goals have come from controlled possession as it is.
