Bellingham 8.5, Trent 8.0 | Real Madrid 3-0 Malaga: Player ratings | OneFootball

Real Madrid went back to the top of La Liga – for 24 hours at least – after a commanding 4-0 victory over newly-promoted Malaga in their third fixture of the 2026-27 season. Jose Mourinho’s second match back at the Bernabeu saw another positive performance from Los Blancos, as goals from Jude Bellingham, Alfonso Herrero (OG) and Kylian Mbappe made the difference.

Player ratings

Thibaut Courtois – 6/10

Just the one save that Courtois had to make on his way to a first clean sheet of the season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8/10

Trent was at his very best in the first half, and he capped his performance off with a fine assist for Mbappe’s goal on the half hour mark. He was much more solid defensively than he has been generally since joining Real Madrid, and that will please both him and Mourinho greatly.

Antonio Rudiger – 6.5/10

A first appearance of the season for Rudiger, and he was solid. He didn’t have much to do on the whole, but he dealt with everything that came his way.

Dean Huijsen – 7/10

Three matches in eight days for Huijsen, but rather than getting worse, he has gotten better. He had a tough first season at the Bernabeu, but under Mourinho, he looks like developing into a top-class central defender.

Marc Cucurella – 7/10

Real Madrid’s decision to spend big on Cucurella is already paying dividends. The difference in quality between his performance here and Carreras’ against Espanyol/Real Sociedad was stark, with the 2026 World Cup winner good in both defence and attack.

Federico Valverde – 6.5/10

Not the captain’s best performance, but he did enough to lead his side to another three points at the start of the 2026-27 season.

Eduardo Camavinga – 7/10

Camavinga came into the season not being counted on by Mourinho, but the injury to Aurelien Tchouameni and Real Madrid’s failure to sign another midfielder have worked in his favour. He struggled in his cameos and Espanyol and La Real, but he was very good here – he helped control the middle of the park, contributing particularly in defence.

Brahim Diaz – 6/10

Preferred to Guler, Brahim failed to take his chance. He was regularly involved in the play, but he was unable to make a telling contribution before being replaced on 65 minutes.

Jude Bellingham – 8.5/10

Once again, Bellingham is the man for Real Madrid. He opened the scoring with a goal made all on his own, and he was unlucky not to add a second when an effort crashed off the post. The decision to play him further forward is one that Mourinho can take a lot of credit for.

Vinicius Junior – 7/10

He struggled to make a telling impact on the whole, but he tried very hard – even in the press, which will be a pleasing aspect for Mourinho. He got his reward in stoppage time when he set up Guler for Real Madrid’s fourth goal.

Kylian Mbappe – 7/10

Followed up his midweek hat-trick with an excellent volleyed goal in this one, although he will be disappointed to have scored only once. He had several chances, but he was regularly thwarted by Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero.

Substitutes

Yan Diomande – 6.5/10

Diomande looked threatening during his cameo, which will please Real Madrid supporters as he continues to build himself up.

Bernardo Silva – 6/10

Not the best performance off the bench from the veteran Portuguese midfielder, who wasn’t decisive in his duels.

Arda Guler– 6.5/10

Came on in the 87th minute, but he had enough time to score after great work from Vinicius.