One assist for Mbappe, one box ticked
Yan Diomande has made his first assist in a Real Madrid shirt. The Ivorian winger teed up Kylian Mbappe for Madrid’s second goal in the 3-2 win at Elche. Until then, his stats sheet had stayed blank since his summer arrival.
The move summed up exactly what Madrid want from him. A burst down the right, a pinpoint cross, a goal. Diomande spent most of the match trying to make things happen on that flank, with the sort of running power that hadn’t quite been there a few weeks ago.
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Two starts in a row
The detail matters as much as the assist. This was his second straight start, after the one against Rayo Vallecano. In a Madrid attack where competition is brutal, back-to-back games in the XI send a message.
Jose Mourinho made no secret of his satisfaction. “He is improving. Physically, you can see he is starting to get more minutes in his legs. He has a very good work rate, he is intelligent and he had a big game,” the Portuguese coach said on Wednesday.
The tone has changed
Only a few weeks ago, Mourinho was calling for patience around his winger, who arrived in the summer and was still some way off peak fitness. Now the language is about confirmation. From a manager who weighs every word, that shift usually says more than the scoreline.
Still, one assist and two starts do not make a season, especially in an attack where Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo already take most of the minutes and the spotlight. Diomande has forced his way into the rotation through output. In Madrid, that is usually the surest way in.
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