After a 4-0 Rout! La Liga Changes Overnight: Real Madrid Set Fastest Record in 7 Years, Promoted Side's €24.5 Million Recruitment Pays Off!

They rotated five players, and it was still 4-0.

Mourinho did not say much after the match, only leaving that one sentence. The Bernabeu scoreboard stopped at 4-0. Malaga goalkeeper Herrero stood up in the second half, patted his gloves, and looked empty.

At 23:00 on August 30, in La Liga's third round, Real Madrid hosted promoted side Malaga. In the 19th minute, Bellingham received the ball in midfield and moved toward the penalty area. Two Malaga defenders followed him but failed to stop him. He fired a low shot from a tight angle, and the ball went between Herrero's legs. 1-0.

In the 26th minute, Mbappe's shot from the right was saved, and Bellingham jumped for a header rebound. The ball hit Herrero's back and went into the net. The referee credited it as an own goal, but everyone saw Bellingham forced the play. 2-0.

In the 30th minute, Alexander-Arnold crossed from the right, the ball curved toward Mbappe, and the French forward hit a first-time volley without adjustment. 3-0.

The match was effectively over before halftime ended.

In stoppage time in the 91st minute, Vinicius cut back from the left, and Guler tapped into an empty net to make it 4-0.

Mourinho changed five starters in this match. Alexander-Arnold and Cucurella made their first starts, while Camavinga, Valverde, and Bellingham rotated in midfield. After the match, he told Real Madrid TV: "The tempo dropped in the second half, but every time we accelerated it felt like we could score one or two more."

After three rounds, Real Madrid have beaten Espanyol 2-1, Real Sociedad 4-1, and Malaga 4-0, scoring 10 goals and conceding two. Since Ronaldo left in 2018, this is the first time Real Madrid have scored 10 goals in their opening three league matches. The previous time they were this strong was the 2017-18 season.

The moment they went 3-0 ahead was the 30th minute of the match. The club's records show the last time a La Liga team reached 3-0 that early was in November 2019.

Bellingham has scored two goals and provided two assists in the first three rounds, while also creating one own goal. Mourinho has kept him in the number 10 role rather than using him as an attacking midfielder who constantly drops deeper. The England international said: "The coach gives me freedom, I can move forward and I can come back to receive the ball." He hit the post with a powerful shot in the 55th minute and received applause from the Bernabeu when he was substituted.

On the same night, things also became wild at the Riazor stadium.

Deportivo La Coruna beat Valencia 3-1. In the 13th minute, Valencia's Tarega scored an own goal with a header, making it 1-0. In the 17th minute, Aubameyang received a through ball just past the halfway line, carried the ball for most of the pitch, changed direction to beat a defender before the box, and chipped the goalkeeper into the far corner for 2-0. After scoring, he performed a front flip, looking like he did in his Dortmund days in his twenties.

In the 26th minute, Valencia's Sadiq pulled one back. In the 59th minute, Diakhaby scored another own goal, making the final score 3-1. Deportivo defender Altimira was later sent off after two yellow cards, but it did not affect the result.

This Deportivo side climbed back to La Liga from the fourth tier this summer and spent around €24.5 million on new signings, ranking fourth in La Liga spending. Goalkeeper Roman, center-back Ed, and winger Jensen were all purchased. Aubameyang was signed from Marseille after activating a €1.5 million release clause; he is 37 years old and signed until 2028.

Aubameyang has scored in every one of the first three rounds: a left-footed low shot into the far corner against Elche in the opener, which was Deportivo's first La Liga goal after returning to the division following eight years away; a one-on-one finish against Malaga in the second round; and a long solo run and chip this round. He has three goals in three matches, accounting for three of the team's five goals, with the other two coming from Valencia. He became Deportivo's first player in 22 years to score in each of the first three La Liga matches of a season, with the previous one being Pandiani in 2004.

Valencia now have one draw and two defeats from three matches, with one point, ranking 16th. Last season they finished ninth.

Athletic Bilbao also had a strange round. After losing their first two matches and sitting at the bottom, they played Celta away in the third round. Berenguer scored in the 20th minute and Navarro added another in the 22nd minute, as they won 2-0, leaving the opponents unable to react for two minutes.

The three-round standings: Barcelona have 9 points (a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano, 12 goals scored), Real Madrid have 9 points (10 goals scored), and Atletico Madrid have 7 points (a 3-1 win over Sevilla). Deportivo have 5 points and rank eighth. Malaga have one draw and two defeats from three matches, one point, and sit at the bottom alongside Valencia and Elche.

This was the seventh time in Mourinho's coaching career that he started a league season with three straight wins, with the previous occasion coming at Roma. In the 2012-13 season, his Real Madrid side lost 0-1 away to Malaga, and this time they responded with a 4-0 victory.

Real Madrid will face Betis away in the next round.