Real Oviedo 0-3 Real Madrid Player Ratings: Arda Guler Rated 7.5/10 as Los Blancos Thrash La Liga Newcomers at Home

Real Oviedo locked horns with Real Madrid on the second matchday of the La Liga 2025/26 season on 24th August, 2025, at 9:30 PM (GMT), at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo, Spain. Real Oviedo are back in the Spanish top flight after 24 long years and faced the Los Blancos in their second league game of the season, who were coming off a narrow win against Osasuna in their previous game.

Real Oviedo made a quick start as a long ball for Luka Ilic was well dealt with by Thibaut Courtois, who came off the line quickly to clear the ball away in a one-on-one situation. Real Madrid saw most of the ball and maintained almost 88% possession in the first 20 minutes. They tried to break down the Real Oviedo defense on numerous occasions - by taking long shots, from corners, and by taking risks inside the box - but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net somehow. It was in the 37th minute when the deadlock broke, as Aurelien Tchouameni won the ball in the middle of the pitch and found Arda Guler, who played an incisive pass to Kylian Mbappe, who was stationed at just the edge of the box. The Frenchman took the pass on his turn, which provided him with a fair amount of space to shoot, and he finished it at Aaron Escandell's far post to give Real Madrid the lead. The Real Oviedo fans and players argued for a VAR check for a possible foul in the buildup from Tchouameni, but the referee was quick to dismiss those claims.

In the second half, Real Madrid still remained the dominant side with most of the possession, while Real Oviedo were happy to sit back and defend and looked for an opportunity to counterattack. Kwasi Sibo saw his shot deflect off Courtois' far post in the 82nd minute, which could have changed the complexion of the game. Unfortunately, they were hit back just two minutes later as Vinicius Jr. won the ball in the danger area and ran at full pace at the Oviedo backline before finding Mbappe with a nice pass inside the box, and the Frenchman made no mistake in doubling the lead. Mbappe could have had a hat-trick but saw his thunderbolt saved brilliantly by Escandell, who had been excellent throughout the game. Santi Cazorla, aged 40, returned to the Spanish top division and came on at the 88th minute for his boyhood club to try and salvage something for his team, but was unable to do so as Madrid held their lines well and ensured the three points with Vinicius Jr.'s lovely finish in the 93rd minute. Here are the Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid Player Ratings.

Real Oviedo Player Ratings

Here are Sportsdunia's Real Oviedo player ratings.

Goalkeeper:

Aaron Escandell - 7/10

Aaron Escandell made a really good save from Rodrygo early in the first half to keep things level. However, he didn't have much to do with Mbappe's goal, as it was purely a defensive lapse. He again made a point blank ave from Fede Valverde in the second half to keep the margin to just a goal. His distribution was a bit off the mark, though, in the match.

Defenders:

David Costas - 6.5/10

Costas held the defensive line well and made quite a few important tackles in and around the penalty box, especially on Rodrygo, to prevent him from doing something dangerous.

Dani Calvo - 6/10

The skipper, Dani Calvo, had a decent game at the heart of the defense. Calvo was on hand to make a lot of important interceptions and won a number of duels in and around the danger areas.

Oier Luengo - 5/10

Luengo seemed to be the only weak link in the backline, as he was caught out of position at times. He failed to track Mbappe's run, which resulted in the first goal of the game.

Midfielders:

Nacho Vidal - 6.5/10

Nacho Vidal made a lot of surging runs forward and delivered some good crosses into the box. Defensively, he tracked back quite well to support the centre backs from time to time.

Kwasi Sibo - 6/10

Sibo lost possession on numerous occasions in dangerous areas but was quick to make amends for his mistakes. He used his physicality well to ward off the Madrid midfielders and won a few duels here and there.

Leander Dendocker - 6.5/10

Leander Dendockers brought his experience to the game and won a good number of duels in the middle of the park. He blocked a good number of shots too from Rodrygo and Mbappe, which could have been dangerous.

Rahim Alhassane - 6/10

Alhassane made quite a few forward runs with and without the ball and always provided an added option in attack for Real Oviedo. Defensively, he did quite well against the likes of Franco Mastantuono, as he kept the Argentine at bay for most of the game.

Forwards:

Luka Ilic - 7/10

One of the best players for Real Oviedo, Luka Ilic was on point with his passing and used his quick feet to get past the Madrid defenders with ease. He found pockets of spaces at times and exploited them quite nicely. He tried to combine with Salomon Rondon up front and was successful on a number of occasions. His positioning in the match was quite good too.

Salomon Rondon - 6.5/10

Salomon Rondon used his physicality quite well to hold the ball up front and did well against the likes of Antonio Rudiger. He did drop deep at times to combine with his midfielders and always provided an attacking threat with his pace in Oviedo counters.

Ilyas Chaira - 6/10

Ilyas Chaira fared well enough in the match. His trickery was on point and did get the better of Dani Carvajal at times but lacked the final ball.

Substitutes:

Haissem Hassan - 6/10

Federico Vinas - 5/10

Ovie Ejaria - 5/10

Santi Cazorla - NA

Manager:

Veljko Paunovic - 6/10

Paunovic fielded a 3-4-3 formation, which shifted to a back five while defending. His team sat deep for most of the game, giving little to no space to the Real Madrid attackers. His players worked hard defensively and held their concentration quite well to thwart any possible threat from the Los Blancos. Offensively, they lacked the magic needed in the final third to open the scoring.

Real Madrid Player Ratings

Here are Sportsdunia's Real Madrid player ratings.

Goalkeeper:

Thibaut Courtois - 6/10

Courtois was good with his outing, as he closed down Ilys Chaira quickly in a one-on-one situation. His distribution in the match was on point too.

Defenders:

Dani Carvajal - 6.5/10

The veteran right back was featuring in his first league game of the season and had a decent outing. Carvajal made a good number of overlapping runs and even got into the box at times. Defensively, he was sound too.

Antonio Rudiger - 6/10

Rudiger made a number of interceptions in and around the penalty box and thwarted quite a few Real Oviedo crosses away from danger.

Dean Huijsen - 6.5/10

Dean Huijsen played the ball quite well from the back and always looked for a way forward with the ball. The Spaniard covered the spaces well and held the defensive line quite efficiently.

Alvaro Carreras - 6/10

Carreras was a live wire on the left-hand side, making runs into the danger areas with and without the ball. The left back tracked back well and defended nicely against the likes of Luka Ilic.

Midfielders:

Fede Valverde - 6/10

The engine of Real Madrid, Fede Valverde, had an okayish game in the midfield. The Uruguayan's work rate was good, as he covered a lot of ground in both offensive and defensive transitions. Valverde made a good number of forward runs to provide more attacking options in the final third.

Aurelien Tchouameni - 6.5/10

Tchouameni sat at the heart of the midfield and linked the defense to attack quite well. He dropped between the two centre backs at times during the defensive transitions and made a lot of interceptions before Oviedo could do something dangerous.

Franco Mastantuono - 6/10

The Argentine was handed his first start by Xabi Alonso in the league and had a decent outing. Mastantuono was calm on the ball and looked to play neat one-twos with his teammates. His passing was on point, and his positioning was good too.

Arda Guler - 7.5/10

Arda Guler controlled the tempo of the game for the Los Blancos quite efficiently. The Turk found pockets of spaces in the middle and tried to play incisive passes to Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo. Guler dropped deep at times to build the game from the back and regulated the flow of play quite well. Provided the assist for Kylian Mbappe's goal, which put Real Madrid in the lead.

Rodrygo - 6/10

The Brazilian was handed a rare start and was quite convincing in the match. Rodrygo took on defenders at will and got into the box on numerous occasions, making life difficult for the Real Oviedo backline.

Forwards:

Kylian Mbappe - 7/10

Kylian Mbappe put his quick feet to good use and got past the defenders really well. The Frenchman did drop deep at times to combine with his teammates and had a few shots on goal, which mostly lacked venom. Despite all these, he still did what he does best, as he took a ball from Arda Guler on the turn just at the edge of the penalty box and fired it in to give Madrid the lead in the match.

Substitutes:

Brahim Diaz - 5/10

Vinicius Junior - 7.5/10

Came on in the second half and managed a goal and an assist.

Gonzalo Garcia - 6/10

Manager:

Xabi Alonso - 6.5/10

Xabi Alonso made quite a lot of changes to the side that faced Osasuna in the first matchday - the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Dani Carvajal, Rodrygo, and Franco Mastantuono all got their chance to leave a lasting impression on their manager. He fielded the same 4-3-3 formation, and it proved to be quite effective. His players pressed well and kept possession for most of the game. His team was quite alert in defensive transitions but found it a little difficult to make clear-cut chances against another low-block playing team.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match: Arda Guler