The Spain international, standing in for Real Madrid’s star player, found the net and displayed impressive play the entire way. Brahim Diaz has been waiting for his opportunity to make an impression after Jude Bellingham’s skill consistently kept him from a starting position. Bellingham, rested on Wednesday night, took it. The Spaniard scored one goal, was unlucky to have another disallowed, and played the usual manipulative role for the Englishman as Los Blancos easily defeated Braga 3-0.
The visitors were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead early, when Lucas Vazquez dragged Cristian Borja down in the box-only for reserve goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to keep out the ensuing penalty.
Shortly after, Diaz believed he had opened the score, but his cool finish was disallowed due to a foul during the build-up. The next time he had the ball in the net, though, everything went fine. The attacking midfielder gave his team a well-earned 1-0 lead by scuttling into the box to meet Rodrygo’s cutback. In the second half, he should have made it two, but Matheus brilliantly stopped him from close range. After 58 minutes, Vinicius made no such error, slotting home to cap off a seamless counterattack. Two minutes later, Rodrygo added a third goal to complete an easy victory. He did this by taking Vinicius’ pass in stride and skillfully chipping over Matheus.
GOAL rates Real Madrid’s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Andriy Lunin (7/10):
Called in for the injured Kepa Arrizabalaga at the last minute. Did well to save the Braga penalty. Will be happy to keep the clean sheet.
Lucas Vazquez (5/10):
Gave up a pen and was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow. Not his best night.
Antonio Rudiger (7/10):
Covered spaces in behind effectively. Did a lot of running for the ageing Nacho. Won a few tackles.
Nacho (7/10):
Involved heavily throughout. Went about his defensive work well.
Ferland Mendy (7/10):
Handed a rare start. Solid defensively, and contributed going forward. Nearly nicked a goal in the first half, too.
Midfield
Eduardo Camavinga (6/10):
Snappy in tackles and tidy in possession. Survived an injury scare early in the second half.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Dangerous down the right channel. Had a few dangerous efforts blocked. A real return to form.
Toni Kroos (7/10):
This was the perfect kind of game for him: low tempo, space to ping it around, not much defensive work to do. He was as controlled as you’d expect.
Brahim Diaz (8/10):
Deployed in the Bellingham role. And there wasn’t much, if any, drop-off. Diaz scored the opener, had one disallowed, and was key in the other two goals. Took his chance with aplomb. Diaz play such a wonderful match.
