La Liga: Mbappe scores as Real Madrid beat Santander to maintain pressure on Barcelona

Spread the wordKylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot as Real Madrid secured a 3-0 victory over Racing Santander on Sunday to maintain their pursuit of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

The French forward put behind a turbulent week to help Madrid claim all three points at the Sardinero Stadium, with Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande also finding the net.

The victory extended Madrid’s winning run to six consecutive matches across all competitions, keeping them third on the league table, three points behind Barcelona, who defeated Alaves 6-1 on Saturday.

Madrid also remained one point behind city rivals Atletico Madrid, who recorded a 2-0 victory over Levante.

Mbappe gave Madrid the lead in the 11th minute after going down under pressure from Matteo Prati inside the penalty area.

The France international stepped forward to convert the spot kick emphatically, giving the visitors an early advantage.

Madrid continued to dominate possession and created several opportunities, with Arda Guler providing the assist for the second goal.

The Turkish midfielder delivered an excellent pass that sent Bellingham through on goal, allowing the England international to take the ball past the goalkeeper before calmly rolling it into the net.

The goal was Bellingham’s 50th since joining the Spanish giants in 2023.

Guler later missed an opportunity to extend Madrid’s advantage after being set up by Mbappe.

However, Diomande made it 3-0 with a powerful effort from the edge of the penalty area, putting the result beyond the hosts.

Madrid survive Racing’s second-half pressure

Racing Santander returned from the break with greater attacking intent and initially pushed Madrid backwards.

The hosts’ improved performance frustrated Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, who was seen shouting instructions at his players as they struggled to regain control.

Madrid eventually settled back into the contest and created further opportunities to increase their lead.

Mbappe struck the post, while Bellingham was denied by Racing goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala.

Racing were subsequently awarded a penalty after Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni handled the ball inside the area.

However, the decision was overturned following a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Bellingham thought he had scored his second goal in stoppage time, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Substitute Endrick also came close to adding another goal but curled his long-range attempt narrowly wide.

The defeat marked Racing’s first home loss of the campaign. The club, currently 16th, returned to La Liga this season after spending 14 years outside Spain’s top division.

The victory provided a positive response for Mbappe following a difficult week that included disappointment at the Ballon d’Or awards.

The French forward narrowly missed out on the individual honour to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane on Monday.

He also issued an apology following a social media controversy over a video in which he joked about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

The controversy reportedly affected the broadcast of Spanish league fixtures in China, with Chinese state television declining to show Real Madrid’s match and other Spanish fixtures over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Sevilla suffered a 3-1 defeat away to Getafe earlier on Sunday, a result that moved the hosts into mid-table.

Other fixtures scheduled for Sunday included the Basque derby between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, while Valencia were set to visit Elche.