Perfect streak, Guler’s masterclass | Three takeaways from Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid racked up another 3-0 win last night at the Mestalla to take themselves provisionally on level terms with Barcelona, who play Atletico Madrid later today. Federico Valverde opened the scoring on the night as early as the 28th minute, pinning the hosts back and putting them at a disadvantage. Arda Guler then scored five minutes later to hand the team a 2-0 lead, and a comfortable position heading into the half-time break. After the break, Kylian Mbappe added a third goal in Real Madrid’s favor with a good finish in the 75th minute, and Valencia were soon reduced to ten men to complicate the game further. Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Valencia 0-3 Real Madrid. The perfect streak Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Valencia marks the end of another phase of the new season, for the next international break is now set to begin. Real Madrid continue their winning streak. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) It also marked the completion of a perfect window for Jose Mourinho’s men – one which began at the end of the previous international break and ran until last night’s game and the beginning of the next hiatus. The men in white may not have started the season perfectly, but their performances over the past month have been top-notch. Since the last international break, they played eight games and won all eight, capping off a perfect streak. Since coming back from the hiatus, Real Madrid started off strong with win after win. They first edged past Villarreal and then made a strong comeback to beat Roma away from home. From that point, there was no stopping them. 4-1 wins over Sevilla and RB Leipzig, followed by a massive 2-1 victory over Barcelona away from home, handed them all the confidence they needed. Top cap matters off, they scored three goals in each of their last three games. Now, the team disperses for another international break, albeit this time with more confidence than ever before. The momentum is firmly on their side. Arda Guler’s masterclass Real Madrid dominated matters in their win at Mestalla last night and played with a sense of conviction that has been missing for a long time. Throughout the night, however, one man pulled the strings like none other, and it was the young phenom, Arda Guler. Starting on the right wing against Valencia, the Turkish star played 84 minutes on the night and was simply unstoppable. He earned one assist, created two big chances and provided three key passes with an xA of 0.53. Beyond that, his distribution was impeccable as he racked up two accurate crosses, completed 86% of his passes and 63% of his long balls as well. Guler also had two shots on target and scored one, showing that he is much more than just a creative outlet and is also an adept goalscorer. Defensively, he won seven duels and made two defensive contributions. All in all, Guler was all over the field against Valencia, and he was deservedly named the man of the match for his all-round show. At this point, he is as integral a part of the team’s best XI as are the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. The defense stands out Valencia did not create too many chances of note against Real Madrid last night, and the game saw the traffic move only one way for the most part. It was a solid team effort from Real Madrid. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Yet, there was a sense of security and comfort around the team’s back line, which handed a boost to the team’s performance and fluidity. For starters, Dean Huijsen and Ibrahima Konate were phenomenal at centre-back, with the latter producing five defensive actions, including three recoveries, and even winning two duels. More importantly, he completed 97% of his 64 passes while Huijsen completed 93% of his 86. With the centre-backs playing out the ball with sense and a sense of security, Real Madrid looked very stable in the build-up and also while defending against transitions. The full-backs, meanwhile, did not hold back and pushed high up in attack while also retaining defensive security. Their distribution and link-up play, in fact, were beyond impressive. Cucurella made seven ball recoveries, six defensive actions and won seven duels against Valencia. He completed 96% of his passes and 75% of his long balls. Valverde, meanwhile, scored another great goal for Real Madrid and looked as comfortable as a natural right-back. His adaptation to a foreign role has been very impressive, and it is difficult to see a route back for Denzel Dumfries or Trent Alexander-Arnold at this point.