Mbappé Benched as Real Madrid Vs Real Oviedo XI Named

Real Madrid vs Real Oviedo arrived with the biggest pre-match call already made: Kylian Mbappé was not in Real Madrid’s starting XI at the Santiago Bernabéu. The club named its side before kickoff, and the decision put a sharp focus on who would carry the attack without him.

Mbappé Stays Out

Real Madrid’s XI had Courtois, Trent, Asencio, Alaba, Carreras, Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Brahim, Mastantuono, Gonzalo and Vinicius. Mbappé, despite the warm reception from Florentino Pérez when he arrived, began on the bench.

That choice came in a match framed with no points at stake, which left the team selection and individual scrutiny as the main pre-kickoff storyline at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid’s bus reached the stadium before kickoff, and no first-team player stepped onto the pitch after the arrival.

Oviedo Keep Their Shape

Real Oviedo listed Escandell, Nacho Vidal, Bailly, David Costas, Rahim, Fonseca, Colombatto, Ilyas, Thiago, Reina and Fede Viñas in their starting XI. Javi López and Sibo were missing through suspension, but there were no lineup surprises beyond that.

Florentino Pérez also greeted Santi Cazorla warmly before the match, adding another familiar face to the Bernabéu build-up. The home crowd then had a full XI to judge, with Mbappé absent from it and the attention shifting to the players selected to start instead.

Camavinga And Deschamps

Camavinga’s place in the lineup came with another layer hanging over the night. He was expected to learn Didier Deschamps’s final World Cup list about 30 minutes before the definitive announcement, and Deschamps later said Camavinga would miss the World Cup.

Álvaro Arbeloa had already set the tone with a simple message about Real Madrid’s approach. “Siempre he dicho que el Madrid es más fuerte cuando estamos juntos.” He added, “Perder duele, y mucho, más a cualquier otro club.”

For Madrid, the immediate answer is on the team sheet: Courtois behind a back line of Trent, Asencio, Alaba and Carreras, with Tchouaméni and Camavinga in midfield and Vinicius among the starters. Mbappé’s night began outside the XI, and that was the one decision that defined the build-up at the Bernabéu.