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Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 2-0 defeat of Las Palmas at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday, September 27.
The match started with both teams trying to assert themselves early on, which led to a flurry of small fouls. Los Blancos had the first proper attack of the night after a mistake from Omenuke Mfulu saw Joselu get free in the box and pick out Rodrygo, whose low shot was well saved by Alvaro Valles.
The visitors, intriguingly, were dominating possession initially, with Real Madrid forced to go long in their attempts to attack. Valles, however, was the busier of the two goalkeepers as he was forced into making another good save, this time to deny Joselu.
In the 25th minute, Diaz was caught in the box by Valles' sliding tackle, which saw several calls for a penalty from Real Madrid players. The referee rightfully waived them away as replays showed that the keeper got the ball first.
Carlo Ancelotti's side was forced into a small tactical change just before halftime when David Alaba was taken off due to an injury. Lucas Vazquez replaced him, pushing Nacho to the middle.
The capital club finally made the breakthrough in the final minutes of the half when Vazquez's cross met Diaz, who took a touch before calmly slotting the ball into the far top corner. Real Madrid doubled their lead not long into the second half when Joselu's glancing header from Rodrygo’s cross found the far corner.
With Real Madrid looking forward to a trip to Girona on Saturday, they took their foot off the gas in the remaining minutes and controlled the proceedings, with Las Palmas also not attacking in numbers to get back in the game.
After losing to Atletico Madrid on the weekend, the 14-time UEFA Champions League winners returned to winning ways with the defeat of Las Palmas and leapfrog Barcelona to second in the La Liga table. On that note, here are the player ratings for Real Madrid:
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6/10
It was an easy night for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was largely a spectator and could take home a clean sheet.
Nacho - 7/10
Nacho did his best to attack after starting the game as a right-back but failed to make any impact. He moved to a central position after David Alaba's injury and looked far more comfortable as a centre-back.
Antonio Rudiger - 7.5/10
Antonio Rudiger had a good game against Las Palmas and his importance to the team has only gone up following Alaba's injury.
David Alaba - 5/10
David Alaba looked solid until he limped off the pitch at the end of the first half.
Ferland Mendy - 6/10
Ferland Mendy was preferred over Fran Garcia and he had a solid, incident-free match.
Aurelien Tchouameni - 8/10
Aurelien Tchouameni had a good outing, completing 90 percent of his passes along with a handful of very good tackles. He kept his defense at ease by letting very little get past him in the middle.
Eduardo Camavinga - 8/10
Eduardo Camavinga found time and space to dictate things in the midfield, with Las Palmas players not putting any pressure on him. He completed the most dribbles in the match.
Federico Valverde - 8/10
Federico Valverde had an all-action night, doing well defensively while also contributing to the attack with good pressing.
Brahim Diaz - 8/10
With Jude Bellingham out, Brahim Diaz made the most of his start by dictating play from the middle and took his goal well.
Joselu - 8/10
Joselu had three good shots saved by Alvaro Valles. On another night, he'd have had a hat-trick. The striker, however, got his goal in the second half to confirm the win for his team.
Rodrygo - 7/10
Rodrygo looked very active around the box and even picked up an assist for Joselu's goal. He was solid, if not spectacular.
Ratings of Real Madrid substitutes
Lucas Vazquez - 7/10
Lucas Vazquez replaced David Alaba in the final minutes of the first half and set up Real Madrid's first goal.
Dani Ceballos - 6/10
Dani Ceballos replaced Brahim Diaz close to the hour mark and made his first appearance of the season. Carlos Ancelotti will be happy to have him back from injury.
Vinicius Junior - 6/10
Vinicius Junior made his return from injury when he replaced Joselu close to the hour mark. The Brazilian, understandably, looked a little rusty after not being in action for a while.
Francisco Garcia - NA/10
Francisco Garcia replaced Ferland Mendy for the final quarter hour and didn't do anything noteworthy.
Toni Kroos - NA/10
Toni Kroos replaced Eduardo Camavinga for the final quarter hour and didn't do anything noteworthy.
