Real Madrid

Mbappé and Güler save sluggish Real Madrid after Getafe go down to nine men

Mbappé’s 15th goal, set up by Güler, rescues Madrid in a sluggish match. Vinícius came on in the second half and proved decisive. Nyom and Sancris were sent off for rough challenges on him.

SERGIO PEREZ

Luis Nieto

Update: Oct 19th, 2025 18:35 EDT

It took Real Madrid 80 minutes to shake off a Getafe side that gave them just seven seconds of peace — the length of the prearranged protest pause that, for the first time, LaLiga’s broadcast chose not to censor. The rest was heavy going: all percussion, no strings, little depth. It was what everyone expected. Getafe’s survival, with such a limited roster, depends on making life miserable for the opposition, stripping them of their virtues, and dragging them down to their level. It may not be pretty, but it’s perfectly legitimate. By crowding the field with foot soldiers, they neutralized a Madrid side solid at the back but toothless in attack — until Nyom’s slap on Vinícius left his team shorthanded. That’s when the Arda Güler–Mbappé partnership settled the game.

Madrid arrived at the Coliseum with a lineup that looked like a controlled detonation: Alaba, Camavinga, and Rodrygo — one surprise in each line — starting; Asensio, Arda Güler, and Vinícius — one possible and two probable — on the bench. It was Xabi Alonso’s way of managing this supposed low-key fixture between the FIFA break and the week’s twin challenges: Juventus and Barcelona. In effect, a preventive lineup for a chronically awkward match, a 4-2-3-1 with Bellingham back at the controls after two weeks of physical and mental rehab. Until now, he’s had to go to the mountain because the mountain — his ideal position — didn’t exist. This time, the mountain came to him.

Bordalás took an even more cautious approach: three center backs, two wingbacks, three holding midfielders, and two strikers to defend high up the pitch — far from the sacred ground of his own box — with a side short on flair but fierce in the challenge. Handing Madrid the ball was always part of the plan.

That plan allows no lapses, and yet one arrived early — a gap in the worst possible place, right where Mbappé was lurking unmarked after a pass from Rodrygo. The Frenchman wasn’t as sharp as usual, and David Soria won a duel he had no right to win. Getafe rarely gifts chances like that; they’re merciless, one way or another, when it comes to defending transitions. In that mission, Milla is essential — a holding midfielder who’s nearly unbeatable in every department.

An obstacle course for Real Madrid

It took a long time before David Soria was threatened again. Madrid looked sluggish — partly their own doing, partly Getafe’s. With no pace in their passing, no width, and no collective play, they lacked both penetration and precision. And Getafe turned the field into an obstacle course, forcing frustration on Xabi Alonso’s team. Against Bordalás’s sides, it’s not just hard to create chances — it’s hard to even gain yards.

Only Mbappé, who operates on his own terms and needs little help to infiltrate the box, managed to open occasional cracks in Getafe’s defense, but they came to nothing. After each flash of danger, a blue shirt appeared to smother it.

Rodrygo, meanwhile, found no way forward under constant double marking. Mastantuono brought effort but little clarity in the final third — an area where experience matters, and he’s just out of high school. Even so, he came closest to scoring before halftime with a sharp vertical run, only for a brilliant Djené to take the ball off his foot as he wound up to shoot.

With nothing else working, Tchouameni and Alaba tried their luck from distance, but Madrid’s attack was sporadic at best. Getafe’s was even rarer, though Sancris nearly found the net with a violent volley that flew wide.

The red cards for Getafe

Things got worse for Madrid early in the second half. Getafe grew bolder, gained confidence, and even made an appearance in Courtois’s penalty area. Adrián Liso tested him with a long-range effort that carried some intent.

Madrid needed a spark, and the best man for the job was sitting on the bench: Vinícius. His entry forced Rodrygo to switch flanks. And when the team still couldn’t find rhythm through the wings or the middle, Alonso turned to Arda Güler’s left foot. Madrid’s main problem — beyond its lack of emotional intensity — was the poor contribution from both fullbacks, especially Carreras, who seems to shrink as the season wears on.

Vinícius’s runs down the flank immediately lifted Madrid’s energy. He drew a yellow card from Kiko Femenía, and Bordalás quickly replaced his marker. In came Nyom, who went in brutally. As Vinícius made a run off the ball, the Cameroonian — ignoring the play entirely — cut him down with a wild swipe. He’d been on the field 44 seconds. He played with fire and got burned.

In that chaos, Madrid’s best partnership of the season found its moment. Arda Güler threaded a pass into Mbappé, who scored half the goal with his first touch and the other half with his right foot. David Soria got a fingertip to it, but for a goalkeeper, that only makes it hurt more. The Turkish playmaker’s impact was immediate — and nearly doubled moments later when another pinpoint assist to Mbappé went unrewarded. A 50-yard pass deserved a better finish.

The 1–0 broke Getafe’s resistance, and the game unraveled further when Sancris picked up a second yellow for a reckless kick on Vinícius. Down to nine men, Getafe still nearly equalized, but Courtois denied Kamara in the dying moments.

Incredible, really, that to reach El Clásico in front, Madrid once again needed saving by their goalkeeper.

13 David Soria
2 Djene
17 Kiko Femenía (75')
21 Juan Iglesias
22 Domingos Duarte
16 Diego Rico
8 Arambarri
6 Mario Martín (86')
5 Luis Milla
23 Adrián Liso (89')
18 Alex Sancris
Substitutes
7 Juanmi
20 Coba da Costa (89') SC
4 Yvan Neyou
31 Ismael Bekhoucha
11 Abu Kamara (86') SC
1 Jirí Letácek
12 Nyom (75') -
9 Mayoral
14 Javi Muñoz

1 Courtois
18 Álvaro Carreras
3 Eder Militao
8 Federico Valverde
4 Alaba (45')
6 Camavinga (64')
14 Aurelien Tchouameni
30 Franco Mastantuono (54')
5 Jude Bellingham (85')
11 Rodrygo (85')
10 Kylian Mbappe
Substitutes
21 Brahim Diaz (85') SC
15 Arda Guler (64')
16 Gonzalo García (85') SC
17 Raúl Asencio (45')
13 Andriy Lunin
9 Endrick
20 Fran Garcia
43 Sergio Mestre
45 Thiago Pitarch
7 Vinicius Junior (54')

Substitutions

Raúl Asencio (45', David Alaba), Vinícius Júnior (54', Franco Mastantuono), Arda Güler (64', Eduardo Camavinga), Allan Nyom (75', Kiko Femenía), Brahim Díaz (85', Rodrygo), Gonzalo García (85', Jude Bellingham), Abu Kamara (86', Mario Martín), Coba da Costa (89', Adrián Liso)

Goals

0-1, 79': Kylian Mbappe

Cards

Referee: José Luis Munuera Montero
VAR Referee: Pablo González Fuertes, Valentín Pizarro Gómez
Domingos Duarte (47',Yellow), Kiko Femenía (62',Yellow), Alex Sancris (73',Yellow), Nyom (76',Red), Bordalás (78',Yellow), Alex Sancris (83',Red), Aurelien Tchouameni (94',Yellow)