Real Madrid 2-1 Mallorca Player Ratings: Arda Guler Rated 8/10 As Real Madrid Secure a Comeback against a Brave Mallorca Side

Real Madrid locked horns with Mallorca on matchday 3 of the La Liga EA Sports 2025/26 season, on 30th August, 2025, at 9:30 PM (GMT), at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. Real were coming off a convincing victory against Real Oviedo in their previous game, while Mallorca were looking to improve from their last match against Celta Vigo, which ended in a draw.

Real Madrid started as the better of the two teams, as they kept most of the possession, while Mallorca were happy to sit back and hit Madrid on the counter whenever they got a chance. Kylian Mbappe thought he had put the Los Blancos in the lead in the 6th minute from an exquisite pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold but was later ruled out by the VAR due to offside. Mallorca were looking to hit Madrid from the set pieces and took their chance in the 18th minute when Vedat Muriqi used his back to guide a cross from Pablo Torre away from a helpless Thibaut Courtois, who could only stand and watch as the ball nestled into the far post. The Los Blancos kept pushing and equalized in the 37th minute as Alvaro Carreras' cross found Dean Huijsen, who headed the ball across the six-yard box for Arda Guler to tap it home from close range. Just a minute later, Vinicius Jr. put Real Madrid in the lead as he made a darting run into the danger area, performed a sleek dummy to put two Mallorca defenders in no man's land, and finally finished it with his left foot at Leo Roman's far post. Kylian Mbappe scored again in the 46th minute, but the offside flag was raised again.

In the second half, Real Madrid played their usual game as they kept most of the ball and created a lot of chances up front. Guler scored again in the 55th minute after a comedy of errors in the Mallorca penalty box. Ramon made two good saves, but the final ball fell nicely for the Turk, who tapped it home from close range. However, the VAR intervened and ruled the goal out, as the ball struck Guler's arm in the buildup to the goal. The Bernabeu faithful weren't too happy with the referee's decision, as many argued that Guler's arm, being close to his chest, was in a natural position. Mallorca did come close too, as Samu Costa hit a bullet across the face of the goal, which was cleared valiantly off the line by Alvaro Carreras in the 65th minute. The Los Blancos saw the game off quite nicely as they held onto their lead despite the visitors' efforts to get a goal back at all costs. Real Madrid secured the three points after a frustrating 90 minutes where three of their goals were disallowed against a brave Mallorca side. Here are the Real Madrid vs Mallorca Player Ratings.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Here are Sportsdunia's Real Madrid player ratings.

Goalkeeper:

Thibaut Courtois - 6/10

The Belgian keeper didn't have much to do in the first half. Courtois was quite brilliant with his distribution too.

Defenders:

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6.5/10

Trent was back in the lineu,p replacing Dani Carvajal, and put in a decent shift at the back. Offensively, he did put in some exquisite balls for Kylian Mbappe, one of which even resulted in a goal but was ruled out due to offside.

Eder Militao - 6.5/10

Militao played a good game at the back. He was on hand to make important interceptions and didn't shy away from coming forward and winning important duels in and around the Madrid penalty box.

Dean Huijsen - 7/10

Dean Huijsen's distribution was on point and he cut the passing lanes quite efficiently. The Spaniard held the defensive line quite well and covered the spaces quite neatly. Huijsen played a big part in Madrid's first goal of the game as he headed Carreras' cross back across the six-yard box for Arda Guler to tap it home.

Alvaro Carreras - 7/10

Carreras made quite a number of forward runs, sometimes into the Mallorca penalty box, which showed his intent to get forward. Defensively, he did a solid job in containing the likes of Sergi Darder.

Midfielders:

Federico Valverde - 5.5/10

The engine of Real Madrid's midfield, Federico Valverde had an okayish game against Mallorca. The Uruguayan covered every blade of grass on the pitch and won a few duels here and there, but his usual burst of pace with the ball was missing.

Aurelien Tchouameni - 6/10

Aurelien Tchouameni played a decent game in the middle of the park in a double pivot with Valverde. The Frenchman made a good number of interceptions in the heart of the midfield and linked Madrid's defense to offense with a lot of ease. Should have marked Muriqi better during the corner from which the Kosovo international drew first blood.

Franco Mastantuono - 6.5/10

The Argentine was quite good with his passing and tracked back effectively to help Trent Alexander-Arnold in the defensive phases.

Arda Guler - 8/10

Arda Guler got into good positions in and around the Mallorca penalty area and provided some neat balls up front for Kylian Mbappe to latch onto. He controlled the tempo for Madrid in the midfield and regulated the flow of play quite well. The Turk scored the first goal for Madrid after tapping in from close range from a Dean Huijsen header across the six-yard box.

Vincius Jr. - 7/10

Vinicius was quite lively on the left-hand side, taking on Mateu Morey from time to time and did get the better of him on a few occasions. The Brazilian tracked back quite efficiently to help out Alvaro Carreras in the defensive transitions. He put the Los Blancos in the lead with a lovely left-footed finish after a nice dummy, which left two Mallorca defenders in the mud.

Forwards:

Kylian Mbappe - 6.5/10

Kylian Mbappe was on point with his trickery and made some good runs behind the opposition as he burst into the open spaces with immense pace. The Frenchman did score early on in the game but was ruled out due to offside.

Substitutes:

Brahim Diaz - 6/10

Dani Ceballos - 5/10

Rodrygo - 5/10

Dani Carvajal - 5/10

Gonzalo Garcia - NA

Manager:

Xabi Alonso - 6.5/10

The Spaniard fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation with Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni playing in a double pivot. His team kept most of the ball and were on point with their passing but found it difficult once again to break Mallorca's low block. They lost concentration at times during set pieces which led to a goal early in the first half.

Mallorca Player Ratings

Here are Sportsdunia's Mallorca player ratings.

Goalkeeper:

Leo Roman - 6/10

Didn't have much to do on both of the goals he conceded. Roman was decent with his distribution, but his handling of the ball was a bit off the mark.

Defenders:

Mateu Morey - 6/10

Morey had a difficult time dealing with Vinicius Jr., as the Brazilian got the better of him on numerous occasions. However, the Spaniard was quick to make ground at times and made some important tackles on the Brazilian winger.

Martin Valjent - 5/10

Valjent should have marked Arda Guler better for the first goal, as he left acres of space for the Turk to tap it home from close range. Valjent was also sloppy to concede Vinicius's shot through his legs, which resulted in Madrid's second goal of the game.

Antonio Raillo - 5.5/10

The skipper of Mallorca, Antonio Raillo, was caught out of position at times. He did put in some important tackles in and around the box and cleared a few dangerous Real Madrid crosses.

Marash Kumbulla - 6/10

Kumbulla held the defensive line quite well, kept a close watch on Franco Mastantuono, and didn't let him have too much space on the right-hand side.

Toni Lato - 6/10

Lato was quite lively on the left-hand side as he made a number of overlapping runs and put in some dangerous crosses for Vedat Muriqi to latch on to. Defensively, he was quite solid too.

Midfielders:

Sergi Darder - 6.5/10

Sergi Darder had a decent game on the right-hand side, as the Spaniard took good positions in and around Real Madrid's danger areas and played some neat through balls for his teammates. His twists and turns were exquisite and did cause Carreras problems a few times.

Manu Morales - 6/10

Manu Morales had an okayish game in the midfield, as he was caught out of position on numerous occasions and lost possession in crucial areas of the field.

Pablo Torre - 7/10

The ex-Barcelona player was instrumental in providing the assist for Muriqi's goal in the first half. Pablo Torre controlled the tempo of the game quite well for Mallorca and was on point with his passing.

Forwards:

Mateo Joseph - 4.5/10

Joseph was silent for most of the game. The striker didn't get much service from his teammates and had a minimal impact on the game as a result.

Vedat Muriqi - 7/10

The La Liga veteran found himself on the scoresheet again with a lovely goal from a corner. He used his physicality well to hold off the likes of Eder Militao and Dean Huijsen. Muriqi did drop deep at times to help out his midfielders.

Substitutes:

Samu Costa - 6/10

Johan Mojica - NA

Antonio Sanchez - NA

Takuma Asano - NA

Jan Virgili - NA

Manager:

Jagoba Arrasate - 6/10

Arrasate fielded a 5-3-2 formation to counter Madrid's attacking prowess. His team maintained a low block and were happy to sit back and defend until they got their chance on a counter. They did lose concentration at times, which led to two goals in just two minutes, which changed the complexion of the game completely. His team did create chances but were unable to finish them off properly.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match: Arda Guler