How do Real Madrid fit all their star-studded players in? With balance

MALLORCA, Spain — It’s the 36th minute at the Son Moix Stadium, and Real Madrid — already 1-0 up, away from home, on their LaLiga debut for the 2024-25 season — were enjoying themselves. Camped inside the Mallorca box, the Spanish champions, one of the most exciting attacking line-ups assembled in recent memory, wanted to show what they could do.

Kylian Mbappé backheeled a pass to Jude Bellingham. He turned, laying the ball off to Vinícius Júnior. Another backheel, this time from the Brazilian, was for Rodrygo, who played it outside to Federico Valverde. His cutback found Bellingham, whose disguised pass played Vinícius in behind the defence. It was time for the final, killer pass, and Vinicus’ scooped cross was destined for Mbappé’s head, waiting inside the six-yard box for what would have been a straightforward goal.

It was all denied after Mallorca goalkeeper Dominik Greif got a crucial touch. The ball didn’t reach Mbappé. It was a move that summed up the promise and potential of this Real Madrid team. So much talent, creativity and improvisation, so many stars combining, having fun, and working together to carve open the opposition. But there was no goal at the end of it. And Madrid were still only 1-0 up.

20 minutes later, Mallorca were level, and there was a refreshing, old-fashioned simplicity about their equalizer. It might not have had the finesse of that Madrid passing move — Dani Rodríguez‘s corner was met with a bullet header from battering ram centre-forward Vedat Muriqi — but it was ultimately more effective. And it was the last goal of the match, which ended 1-1, champions Madrid frustrated, dropping two points on the opening weekend of the LaLiga season.

Speaking on the pitch, seconds after the final whistle, Muriqi talked about that moment.

“I have to be honest. Scoring a goal against Madrid is amazing,” he said. “I used to watch them on TV when I was little, this team, these players. I’m very proud…. I was just saying to [Éder] Militão. You’re all so fast! None of them are a weak link. They’re world stars.”

That being said, having a team full of stars isn’t enough. Later, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was critical of his side, saying they had “lacked balance” and questioning their attitude and defensive commitment. That word “balance” was always going to be the key for Madrid this season.

How do you fit Mbappé, Vinicius, Bellingham and Rodrygo into a starting XI without skewing that balance in favour of attack, to the detriment of the defence?

You can, but only if the players’ attitude is right. Ancelotti had been convinced enough by Madrid’s performance in their 2-0 UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta in midweek to stick to the same starting XI, which meant that attacking quartet of Mbappé, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham supported by Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, covering a lot of ground in midfield.

On Mbappé’s long-awaited introduction to LaLiga, the focus was on him from the start. He was the second-to-last player to take to the pitch, only Militão behind him, as last season’s champions were given a guard of honour by Mallorca’s players before kickoff.

Every touch by Mbappé would inevitably be analysed, every contribution, good or bad, assessed. It isn’t every debut that gets a special “player cam” treatment from ESPN.

And there were chances for Mbappé to score. His first came in the sixth minute, when Mallorca lost possession after a corner, and Mbappé carried the ball half the length of the pitch before losing his footing. Later, midway through the first half, Mbappé shot into the side netting from Vinicius’ cross. In the second half, there was another opportunity, his deflected, near-post shot saved well by Greif.

But Madrid’s goal didn’t come from Mbappé, or Vinicius, or Bellingham. Rodrygo has been the forgotten man in all the Mbappé excitement, but he impressed against Atalanta — Ancelotti hailed his output in and out of possession — and here, after another showy Madrid move involving Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius, he opened the scoring in the 12th minute. Receiving the ball inside the box, he waited, found space, and scored.

From then, until the halftime whistle, anything seemed possible. In the second half, that changed, Muriqi’s equaliser sapping Madrid’s confidence. Looking for a goal, Ancelotti turned to substitute Luka Modric, and later — perhaps too late — he threw on Arda Güler and Brahim Díaz. But it was Mallorca that went closest to a winner, the ball rolling just wide of the post in the 87th minute. And the last act of the game wasn’t a dramatic Madrid winner, it was Ferland Mendy‘s red card in added time.

Madrid ended the night disappointed, Mbappé without a goal. Ancelotti was brutally honest.

“We have to defend better, and above all have more balance on the pitch,” he said. His words, facial expression and body language left no doubt how unhappy he was with the outcome, even at this stage of the season.

Ancelotti and his staff have shown themselves more than capable of tweaking the team before and working through any early-season issues. They did so more than once last season, evolving Bellingham’s position to best suit his talents, from acting as a “false nine” to drifting out to the left of midfield, helping protect that flank. More work will be required now, to allow the team to accomodate all those forwards, or some difficult decisions will have to be made about who misses out.

It’s much, much too early to draw any premature conclusions. But some feared that with champions Madrid adding Mbappé, they might stroll to another title, and LaLiga’s competitiveness would suffer. This 1-1 draw was a very early indication that it might not be that simple.