Kylian Mbappe put a turbulent week behind him by scoring from the penalty spot as Real Madrid secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Racing Santander in La Liga on Sunday.
The French forward had narrowly missed out on the Ballon d’Or to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane on Monday before being forced to apologise following a social media backlash over a video in which he joked about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
The controversy also affected Real Madrid’s television coverage in China, with the club’s match and other Spanish league fixtures omitted from Chinese state television broadcasts over the weekend.
Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande were also on target as third-placed Madrid maintained their push for the title, staying within three points of leaders Barcelona, who thrashed Alaves 6-1 on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho’s side have now won six consecutive matches across all competitions and remain one point behind city rivals Atletico Madrid, who defeated Levante 2-0.
“We were very strong in the first half. We came out to play well,” Mourinho told reporters.
“The team is growing, playing well; I think we should have scored even more goals with the chances we had.”
Madrid took the lead in the 11th minute at the Sardinero Stadium after Mbappe won a penalty under minimal pressure from Matteo Prati before confidently converting from the spot.
The goal was the 27-year-old’s 12th in the league this season, leaving him behind Barcelona’s Raphinha, who leads the scoring chart with 15 goals.
Madrid dominated proceedings, and a superb pass from Arda Guler sent Bellingham through on goal to double the visitors’ advantage.
The England international rounded the goalkeeper before calmly slotting the ball into the net for his 50th goal since joining the Spanish giants in 2023.
Guler missed a good opportunity to extend Madrid’s lead after being set up by Mbappe, but Diomande made it 3-0 with a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Racing came out stronger after the break and briefly pushed Madrid onto the defensive, prompting an animated Mourinho to shout instructions at his players from the touchline.
Madrid eventually regained control and created several more scoring opportunities, with Mbappe striking the post and Bellingham denied by Racing goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala.
The hosts were awarded a penalty after Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni handled the ball inside the area, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.
Bellingham thought he had added a fourth in stoppage time, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside, while substitute Endrick narrowly missed the target with a long-range attempt.
The defeat ended Racing’s unbeaten home run this season. The 16th-placed side are playing in La Liga for the first time in 14 seasons.
Earlier on Sunday, Sevilla suffered a 3-1 defeat away to Getafe, allowing the hosts to move into mid-table.
Racing coach Jose Alberto expressed frustration over the penalty awarded to Madrid, arguing that the decision significantly influenced the outcome of the match.
“(Madrid’s penalty award) annoys me,” he told DAZN.
“Evidently, we came across a great Madrid, who put us under a lot of pressure in the first half hour and were much better than us, but what conditioned everything was the first goal and the penalty.”
Later on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao were scheduled to host Real Sociedad in a Basque derby, while Valencia were set to visit Elche.
AFP
