Real Madrid put four goals past Rayo Vallecano, and it wasn't the smoothest 90 minutes -- 45 brilliant minutes followed by a 25-minute stretch that looked subdued and low on energy. But the scoreline told its own story: four goals, matching what Madrid managed in each of its previous two league games at the Santiago Bernabéu, a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad and a 4-0 victory against Málaga.
That run has pushed Madrid's league total to 16 goals in six games. The club has hit that mark three times over the past decade, but you have to go back to the 2016-17 season, when it had scored 17 at the same stage, to find a faster start. As for home form specifically, the last comparable opening was 2011-12, when Madrid scored 15 in its first six home games -- the famous 'League of Records' campaign under José Mourinho that ended with 100 points and 121 goals.
The results are already ahead of that historic pace, too. That 2011-12 season began with a stumble -- a 2-2 Spanish Super Cup draw with Barcelona at the Bernabéu, a 3-2 loss at Camp Nou, and a 1-0 defeat to Levante. This time round, Madrid has five wins and just one setback, the 1-0 loss in Seville, a result shaped largely by Álvaro Valles' saves and a string of missed chances, including a late penalty from Kylián Mbappé.
Goals scored, goals missed
The eye test and the numbers agree: this Madrid team creates far more than it finishes. Despite generating 3.16 expected goals against Real Betis, it failed to score at all. According to data provided to AS by BeSoccer Pro, Madrid has the worst expected-goals differential in LaLiga this season -- 14 goals scored against a total that the metrics suggest should be 5.92 higher. Osasuna (-4.69), Valencia (-3.59) and Málaga (-3.40) follow behind.
The gap with Barcelona sharpens the picture. Barcelona has scored 21 goals from 96 shots, 42 of them on target. Madrid has needed 104 shots and 46 on target to score seven fewer goals -- a 13.5% conversion rate compared with Barcelona's 21.9%.
Mourinho's explanation
"We're scoring a lot, but we're also missing a huge number of chances," Mourinho said after the 4-1 win over Rayo. He doesn't see it as a worry, though -- more a sign of what's still to come. "I told my people that one day a team is going to pay for all those missed chances. One day we're going to score six or seven," he said, half-smiling.
He offered a reason for the wastefulness, too. "We're a team that manages a lot of situations. We're a frantic team that wins the ball back and accelerates. And, of course, the more rushed you are, the harder it is to be accurate."
Mourinho has also defended his players publicly after games against Betis and Inter Milan where finishing was the obvious issue. "Inter could have scored four, but we could have scored eight. And there are people who understand football the way I do and don't say it. Why? Aren't they happy because we won?"
Individually, Mbappé has seven league goals and one missed penalty. Vinícius Júnior, usually good for 20-plus goals a season, has just one so far. Bellingham is the only other player besides Mbappé with multiple goals, on three, while Diomande has yet to open his account.
