Valverde, Diaz and Endrick goals fire Real to win as Mbappe draws a blank

Endrick scored his first goal for Real Madrid as Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Real Valladolid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu to get their La Liga campaign up and running.

The Brazilian youngster was introduced late on in place of Kylian Mbappe and superbly finished off a scintillating counter-attack led by Brahim Diaz to seal the win with his side’s third of the afternoon in added time.

After a frustrating first half, it was a deflected free-kick from Federico Valverde that broke the deadlock for Los Blancos before Diaz doubled their lead with a sumptuous lobbed finish late on.

Mbappe’s best chance came in the second half as his effort from close range was saved by Karl Hein and his wait for a first Liga goal extends beyond his much-anticipated home debut.

Up next for Los Blancos is a trip to Las Palmas on Thursday evening as they look to build on the four points amassed in their opening two fixtures in their La Liga title defence.

After a frustrating 1-1 draw away to Mallorca last time out, it was a similar story early on for Madrid’s forwards in front of a demanding Bernabeu crowd.

Valladolid’s low block was leaving little space for the likes of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Mbappe, who seemed out of sorts down the middle rather than in his favoured wide-left position occupied by Madrid’s No. 7.

A well-taken volley from the Frenchman was the closest Ancelotti’s side came to breaking down the visitors in the opening period but it took just five minutes to open the scoring after the interval.

Arda Guler and Rodrygo slightly adjusted the angle on a free-kick on the edge of the box to tee up Valverde to power home with a low strike via a handy deflection off Stanko Juric.

Guler had a host of half chances as he arrived late in the box on several occasions but a series of blocks and saves from Hein denied the Turkish youngster.

Mbappe had a golden opportunity to double Madrid’s lead after Vinicius found him with a low ball across the front of the six-yard box but his flicked left-footed effort was too close to the goalkeeper who reacted well to parry away.

With the star-studded front three all replaced as the game reached its final stages, Diaz showed them how it was done as he latched on to a long ball from Militao before lobbing Hein to make it 2-0 with two minutes left of normal time.

The Moroccan turned provider in the 96th minute as he picked up a pocket of space in his own half before driving through the midfield and finding Endrick on the right of the box and he shifted the ball onto his right foot and beat Hein at the near post.

It was a slightly flattering scoreline for Ancelotti’s side after being frustrated for large parts but a deserved win as they look to defend their Liga crown having already claimed one title this season in the European Super Cup 11 days ago.

There was palpable anticipation and expectation in the build-up to Mbappe’s Bernabeu debut but the Frenchman endured another frustrating 90 minutes.

After scoring his side’s second in their Super Cup final defeat of Atalanta, it appeared the former Paris Saint-Germain forward was ready to slot straight in to this Madrid side.

But with the club’s new No. 9 now firing a blank on his home debut after an underwhelming La Liga debut in the 1-1 draw against Mallorca, it may not be so straightforward.

Operating as the sole striker, Mbappe was left with little space to make his trademark runs in behind and was often outnumbered and crowded out when the ball was played into his feet in promising positions.

While the chances started to arrive as the game went on, it is evident he is not as comfortable operating down the middle as he is out wide on the left and this may pose a problem that Ancelotti must solve with the competition of Vinicius Junior on that side.

Aside from his goal that gave his side lift-off, the Uruguayan was the player looking to increase the tempo of Madrid’s play and was key in stifling counter-attacks of the visitors. In the absence of key central midfielders, Valverde took on the responsibility to drag Ancelotti’s men up a level.

Real Madrid: Courtois 7, Carvajal 6, Militao 8, Rudiger 7, Garcia 7, Valverde 8*, Tchouameni 6, Rodrygo 6, Guler 8, Vinicius Jr 6, Mbappe 6. Subs: Modric 6, Diaz 8, Ceballos N/A, Endrick 7.

Real Valladolid: Hein 7, Perez 5, Comert 6, Boyomo 7, Rosa 6, Perez 6, Juric 7, Sanchez 6, Machis 5, Mesequer 5, Marcos Andre 7. Subs: Moro 6, Amallah 5, Sylla 5, Martin 6, Ndiaye N/A.

50′ – GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Real Valladolid (Fede Valverde) Guler and Rodrygo adjust the angle of a free-kick to tee it up for Valverde who strikes low and hard and his effort deflects of Juric and fires into the bottom right corner.

88′ – GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Real Vallidolid (Brahim Diaz): It’s a long ball over the top from Militao that finds Diaz who keeps his composure to lob the onrushing Hein on the half-volley with his left foot.

90+6′ – Goal! Real Madrid 3-0 Real Valladolid (Endrick) Diaz finds Endrick to his right and the young Brazilian shifts the ball onto his right foot before beatingHein low at his near post.