Vinicius is the Rock and Roll

Carlo Ancelotti perfectly understands Real Madrid's philosophy at the Bernabéu, where one arrives like in life, to have a good time, to be happy, and to score goals that are worth a comeback. And playing beautifully, well. As Clint Eastwood cited in one of his movies, opinions are like butts, everyone has one. The Reggiolo coach knows that the white fans are used to 'rock and roll,' although at the Chamartín coliseum they have decided to temporarily suspend concerts, so against Espanyol he didn't want to waste time reaching the goal defended by Joan García, a great goalkeeper who had a lot of work from the initial whistle. The Espanyol goalkeeper made five saves in the first 35 minutes. It was therefore difficult for the locals to open the scoring, which they had to do after a mistake by Courtois at the start of the second half that unintentionally put Manolo González's men ahead, who found a reward without deserving it.

The goal put Ancelotti on edge, who brought on Vinicius for the active Arda Güler, starting for the second consecutive time. The joy for Espanyol lasted just a moment as a double error, first by defender Romero and then by their goalkeeper, who was prominent throughout the act, facilitated Dani Carvajal's goal before the volcanic Brazilian winger assisted his compatriot Rodrygo with an outside pass, who only had to push it in. He defended his idea of vertical play in the preview and true to his belief that a coach's playbook should always adapt to the players he has and not the other way around. And so, nothing new under the night sky of Paseo de la Castellana against an opponent entrenched in their area, who ran a lot and witnessed Madrid's classic routine when hosting the Catalan team, which has now gone 28 years without knowing victory at Madrid's home ground. The same old story.

Vinicius himself would score the third goal after Mbappé filtered a pass for the fluminense's run, who in his one-on-one with the goalkeeper finished exquisitely. Comeback and thrashing for Los Blancos against Espanyol - purple at the Bernabéu - who returned this season to a league of stars where they know they can't live without suffering. Javi Puado was the only highlight.

Vinicius' entrance, a moment of intensity and some chords of the musical genre that Ancelotti likes were enough for the locals to continue their frenzy of victories within the first Everest of the season, where they undergo an intense and criticized calendar with four more matches to play in just twelve days, with a derby at Metropolitano on the horizon and the second Champions League matchday.

Madrid is finding it harder than expected to find last season's football, which seemed bound to improve with Kylian Mbappe's arrival, Reggiolo's coach's new weapon of mass destruction. But what does it matter? It's September, and Madrid usually doesn't warm up until things get serious. Before autumn, feelings are so-so, but victories continue on their scoreboard while the team searches for itself. The Bondy star played as number 9 against Manolo González's men and scored Los Blancos' fourth goal with a penalty for holding Endrick. The Frenchman is already at that average of 0.8 goals per game that has accompanied him throughout his career. Four wins and two draws for Los Blancos after their first six matches of the season leave them provisionally second, one point behind Barcelona with one less game.