Vinicius Jr is back where he loves to be—under the Bernabéu lights and in the starting XI. After a jolt from the bench last time out, the Brazilian forward has been restored to the front three for Real Madrid’s home meeting with Mallorca, a game that doubles as a test of form and a test of authority. The confirmed XI says plenty about the manager’s plan: a bold 4-3-3 built on energy, young talent, and big-match personalities. For a team chasing a perfect start, the Real Madrid lineup is as headline-grabbing as it is intriguing.
Alonso’s selection call and the message behind it
Xabi Alonso made waves in the previous match by leaving Vinicius on the bench. It was not punishment as much as a standard-setting call. Form matters, and the Brazilian’s level had dipped since missing out on the Ballon d’Or. Then he came on and flipped the script—one goal, one assist, and a reminder that he still bends games to his will. Today’s start rewards that response and keeps the competition sharp.
Up top, Kylian Mbappé remains the focal point. He has already started his league campaign with two goals and looks comfortable as the central forward, sprinting into space and forcing back lines to retreat. Alongside him, 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono starts on the right. That choice is brave and deliberate. The youngster offers quick feet, a low center of gravity, and the willingness to take risks—exactly what a front line needs against a compact opponent.
Arda Güler slots into midfield as the creative balance. He is the glue between the lines, the player who can receive on the half-turn and find a winger early or slip Mbappé in behind with one touch. With Aurelien Tchouameni anchoring and Fede Valverde covering ground, Madrid have structure around that creativity. Tchouameni protects transitions and breaks up counters; Valverde can drive the ball 30 meters when the game needs a jolt or slide wide to support the right flank.
At the back, Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back signals an inside-out approach in possession. Expect him to step into midfield zones, vary his passing angles, and switch play early to Vinicius when Mallorca compress the middle. On the left, Álex Carreras offers the more traditional full-back run, pushing high to pin his winger and open the half-space for Güler or Vinicius to attack. Éder Militão brings recovery pace and aerial security, while Dean Huijsen’s composure on the ball helps Madrid build cleanly from deep.
Thibaut Courtois returns as the calm at the back. His presence alone changes the risk threshold when Madrid hold a high line. With him sweeping and Militao reading second balls, Alonso can keep the team aggressive without losing defensive control.
Look at the bench and you see why Madrid can morph mid-game: Rodrygo and Brahim can flip the rhythm up front; Dani Carvajal and David Alaba add stability or leadership if the game turns scrappy; Antonio Rüdiger gives steel in a low-block finish; Dani Ceballos can slow or speed the tempo in midfield; Fran García provides fresh legs at left-back. Alonso has multiple ways to chase a goal or protect one without breaking shape.
How the 4-3-3 should break Mallorca’s block
Mallorca arrive wounded. The season opened with a loss to Hansi Flick’s Barcelona and more dropped points against Celta Vigo. So expect a tight block, heavy traffic in central zones, and a plan built on transitions and set pieces. They do not need the ball to be dangerous, and they will happily drag the game into a trench fight if Madrid let them.
The home side’s answer should be patience plus depth of occupation. In possession, Madrid can look like a 3-2-5: Huijsen, Militao, and an inverted Alexander-Arnold form the rest-defense platform; Tchouameni and Valverde sit just ahead to control second balls; Carreras stretches wide left, while Güler and Mastantuono fill the half-spaces. Vinicius stays high and wide to force 1v1s, and Mbappé pins the center-backs with diagonal runs.
Breaking that low block starts with early switches and quick third-man combinations. If Mallorca crowd Güler, the diagonal to Vinicius becomes the release valve. If they shade toward Vinicius, Mastantuono gets isolated chances on the right—moments he has to attack without hesitation. One clean dribble past his marker can unlock Mbappé’s near-post darts or open the cutback lane for a late-arriving Valverde.
Set pieces could be decisive. With Militao’s spring and Tchouameni’s timing, Madrid carry a threat on corners and wide free-kicks, while Mallorca tend to lean into these moments to equalize the physical battle. Limiting cheap fouls around the box matters. So does winning the first clearance and the second contact, zones where Madrid’s concentration has to stay high.
The off-ball plan should tilt between a 4-4-2 and a 4-1-4-1. Mbappé and Vinicius can press from the front, showing play outside and baiting long balls that Militao can attack. When the ball goes wide, Valverde tucks in to keep the middle sealed. The trigger is simple: jump on the first backward pass, close the passing lanes into midfield, and force the goalkeeper to go long. With Courtois behind them, Madrid can live with those punts.
Transitions are where the Bernabéu crowd can change the temperature of the game. One regained ball, one touch from Güler into space, and Mbappé is already moving. Mallorca’s back line will not want a track meet; Madrid will. If the visitors drop too deep, Alexander-Arnold’s early deliveries from the inside-right pocket become the weapon—fast, flat, and hard to defend when Mbappé and Vinicius are attacking different posts.
Alonso also has in-game tweaks ready. If Mallorca clog the middle, he can push Güler higher as a No. 10 and ask Valverde to patrol the right half-space, turning the shape into a 4-2-3-1 without swapping personnel. If control is the issue, he can bring on Ceballos to help build through pressure and keep the ball moving under 10 touches. If Madrid need width and volume of entries, Rodrygo’s arrival shifts the angles and forces backtracking from both opposing full-backs.
There is a human side to all of this. Vinicius needed a reset and got it—the bench, the response, the start. Now he steps into a game where one early take-on can change how Mallorca defend for the next 80 minutes. Mastantuono steps into a trust moment: hold the shape, take his defender on, and don’t defer. And Mbappé, already humming, carries the burden and the fun of being the reference point.
Madrid’s perfect start is at stake, but so is the identity Alonso wants to build: merit over reputation, youth next to experience, and an attacking structure that does not wobble when the game gets messy. The Bernabéu will expect both brinkmanship and control. If the front three find rhythm early and the midfield wins the second balls, the night tilts their way. If not, this bench exists for a reason.
- Key duel: Vinicius vs. his marker in space—win those 1v1s, and the block stretches.
- Key pattern: Alexander-Arnold inverting to switch play; Carreras overlapping to pin the line.
- Key cushion: Tchouameni and Valverde against transitions—stop the first pass, own the second ball.
- Key risk: Set pieces—mark the back-post runner, stay switched on after the first clearance.
- Key spark: Güler’s first touch between the lines—if he receives on the turn, chances follow.
All the pieces are on the board. A lively front three, a creative midfielder trusted to knit it, and a back line built to let the team attack without fear. For a home crowd that feeds on urgency and flair, this is the kind of selection that promises both.
Sihle Tana
I am a journalist with a passion for covering daily news in Africa. My work has taken me across the continent, reporting on significant events and stories that impact communities. I strive to bring insightful and comprehensive news coverage to my readers.
Vinicius coming back into the starting XI after that bench moment was exactly what this team needed. You could see the fire in his eyes during the last game off the bench-like he was saying ‘you think I’m done?’ and then he went and made the whole stadium breathe again. And Mastantuono? 17 years old and starting in a 4-3-3 at the Bernabéu? That’s not just bravery, that’s vision. Alonso isn’t just playing for results, he’s playing for identity. This kid doesn’t flinch when the pressure mounts, he leans into it. The way he drops his shoulder and twists past defenders like they’re standing still-it’s poetry in motion. And pairing him with Mbappé? That’s not just talent stacking, that’s chess. Mbappé pulls center-backs out of position, Mastantuono drags the fullback wide, and suddenly Vinicius has the whole left channel to himself. The midfield trio of Güler, Tchouameni, and Valverde? Perfect balance. Güler sees the game three passes ahead, Tchouameni is the wall, Valverde is the engine that never sleeps. Even Alexander-Arnold’s inverted role makes sense here-he’s not just a fullback, he’s a playmaker disguised as a defender. And Courtois? He’s the quiet storm. No flashy saves, just calmness that makes everyone else play bolder. This isn’t just a lineup, it’s a statement: youth isn’t a risk, it’s the blueprint.
And the bench? Rodrygo’s pace, Carvajal’s leadership, Rüdiger’s grit, Ceballos’ rhythm-it’s like having five different versions of the same team ready to swap in. Alonso didn’t just pick eleven players, he picked eleven personalities with different ways to break a game open. Mallorca will sit deep, they’ll clog the middle, they’ll hope for a mistake. But Madrid don’t need mistakes. They need space, and they’ve got six players who can create it without the ball even moving. This is football as art, not just sport.
Watching Mastantuono start feels like watching a young Messi in 2004-nobody believed it, but everyone knew it was inevitable. The kid doesn’t celebrate after a dribble, he just turns and looks for the next pass. That’s the kind of confidence you can’t coach. And Vinicius? He’s not just back-he’s upgraded. He’s smarter now. He knows when to go 1v1, when to drag two defenders, when to slip it to Mbappé. This isn’t a comeback. This is evolution.
I’ve watched Madrid for fifteen years. This is the first time I’ve seen a team that feels like it’s playing for something bigger than trophies. It’s about legacy. About proving that you don’t need to be old to be great. You just need to be fearless. And right now? They’re fearless.
And if Mallorca think they can sit back and wait? They’re going to get ripped apart by a 17-year-old who doesn’t even know what fear looks like.
Let’s go.
Watch the second half. If Madrid score early, the whole league will feel it.
This lineup is pure theater and nobody’s fooling themselves. Vinicius gets the start because the media demanded it, not because he’s earned it. Mastantuono? Cute story, but he’s a liability against organized defenses. Alonso is playing hero ball, not football. Mbappé is the only one who matters here, everyone else is just decoration. The midfield is too thin, the fullbacks are too far out, and Courtois is 32-this isn’t a system, it’s a gamble with a fancy name. Mallorca will punish this. Mark my words.
I just want to say how proud I am of how Alonso is giving these young guys a real shot. Mastantuono is so young but he’s got this quiet confidence that reminds me of when I first started playing. Vinicius needed this moment and he’s ready. And Güler? He’s the quiet genius nobody talks about but makes everything click. Everyone’s so focused on Mbappé but the real magic is in how the whole team moves together. No one’s trying to be the star, they’re just trying to make the next pass better. That’s what football should be about. And Courtois? He’s the calm in the storm, the steady hand that lets everyone else breathe. This team feels like a family. Keep going, boys. We believe in you.
And to the kid on the right wing-you got this. Just trust your feet. We’re all watching.
Alonso is going to get fired after this. This lineup is a suicide mission. Mastantuono? A 17-year-old on the right wing against a team that’s been training for this exact scenario? He’s going to get shredded. Vinicius is still inconsistent, Mbappé is carrying the whole team, and Alexander-Arnold playing as a midfielder? That’s not tactical, that’s delusional. Tchouameni can’t cover the entire half-space alone, Valverde is going to collapse from exhaustion, and Mallorca’s counter will be brutal. Courtois is too slow now-he’s not saving anything at this point. This isn’t a team, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. And the bench? Rodrygo can’t fix this. Ceballos won’t fix this. Rüdiger won’t fix this. This is a train wreck with a 4-3-3 sticker on it. I told you all this would happen. You didn’t listen. Now watch Madrid get embarrassed by a team that didn’t even win their opener. This is the end of the Alonso era. I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed.
One must question the aesthetic coherence of this selection. While the inclusion of Mastantuono is undeniably sentimental, it betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of positional hierarchy in modern high-press systems. The inverted fullback construct, while theoretically elegant, exposes the central axis to lateral overloads-a flaw exposed in every top-tier defensive unit since 2020. Furthermore, the reliance on Güler as a creative nexus ignores his statistical underperformance in progressive passing under pressure, a metric consistently outperformed by players of comparable age in Serie A and Ligue 1. The tactical framework, while theatrically appealing, lacks empirical rigor. One wonders if this is football or performance art disguised as sport. The bench, though deep, is a compensatory mechanism for structural fragility. A truly elite side does not require seven alternatives to maintain balance. This is not evolution. It is improvisation masquerading as strategy.