Rodrygo opened the scoring for Real Madrid, and Bellingham extended their lead to 2-0 shortly after the 60-minute mark. Although Alvaro Djalo scored for Braga, Carlo Ancelotti’s team managed to maintain their advantage. With nine points from three games in Group C, Real Madrid leads the way, three points ahead of Napoli, who won 1-0 against Union Berlin in Germany. Madrid took the lead in the 16th minute when Nacho played the ball to Vinicius on the left wing, and Vinicius, after dribbling past Serdar Saatci, provided a pass for Rodrygo to slide home.
Madrid believed they had extended their lead ten minutes before halftime, but Rodrygo’s goal was disallowed due to Vinicius being offside when Eduardo Camavinga passed the ball to him from near the halfway line.
In the 61st minute, Bellingham doubled Madrid’s lead by calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box after receiving a pass from Vinicius. This marked his 11th goal in all competitions for Real Madrid since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the season.
However, the home side halved the deficit just two minutes later when Djalo powered a near-post drive past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Braga then introduced the dangerous Bruma, who was only deemed fit enough to start on the bench. The change nearly paid off in 70 minutes when a Ricardo Horta drive was spooned just wide by Arrizabalaga.
Vinicius thought he had added a goal to his two assists in 82 minutes, but the assistant’s flag denied him with Madrid looking to kill off the game.
A VAR check for a penalty in the 89th minute was Braga’s last hope for an equalizer as Madrid ground out a hard-fought victory.
The Spanish side will be looking to book their place in the round of 16 when they host Braga in the return fixture on November 8.
Given the nod to start up front, Brazilian attacker Rodrygo will be hoping his goal will ensure his place in the starting XI for Saturday’s Clasico away to Barcelona.
