Kylian Mbappe put a tumultuous week behind him on Sunday, scoring an early penalty to help set Real Madrid on course for a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Racing Santander.
The French forward entered the match following a turbulent few days after missing out on the Ballon d’Or to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and issuing a public apology for a social media video involving former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The fallout from the controversy resulted in Spanish top-flight fixtures, including Sunday’s match, being pulled from Chinese state television broadcasts.
Dominant First Half Sets the Tone
Despite the off-field distractions, Mbappe made an immediate impact at the Sardinero stadium. In the 11th minute, he drew a soft foul from Matteo Prati in the box before stepping up to smash the resulting penalty home. The strike marked his 12th league goal of the campaign, keeping him firmly in the race behind Barcelona’s Raphinha.
Real Madrid quickly doubled their advantage thanks to moments of brilliance from Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham. Guler unlocked the Santander defence with a crisp through ball to Bellingham, who coolly rounded the goalkeeper to roll home his 50th goal for Real Madrid since arriving in 2023.
Before the break, Madrid’s record signing Yan Diomande added a third, firing a powerful strike from the edge of the box to lock in total control for Jose Mourinho’s side.
Mourinho’s Side Keep the Pressure On
The victory marks six straight wins across all competitions for Real Madrid. The result keeps them third in the La Liga standings, just three points behind league leaders Barcelona—who defeated Alaves 6-1 on Saturday—and a single point adrift of second-place Atletico Madrid.
“In the first half we were very strong; we came out to play well,” manager Jose Mourinho told reporters after the match. “The team is growing, playing well; I think we should have scored even more goals with the chances we had.”
Racing Santander fought back in the second half, briefly threatening to reduce the deficit before a potential penalty award for an Aurelien Tchouameni handball was overturned following a VAR review. Late efforts from Mbappe—who struck the post—and Endrick kept the hosts on their heels until the final whistle.
Elsewhere in La Liga
The loss was Santander’s first home defeat of the season as they look to maintain their top-flight status.
In other action across the league:
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Getafe claimed a 3-1 victory over sixth-place Sevilla to shift into mid-table.
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Valencia edged closer to safety with a 1-0 win over Elche via a goal from Umar Sadiq.
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Athletic Bilbao earned a thrilling 2-1 win over rivals Real Sociedad in the Basque derby, anchored by dynamic goals from Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer, alongside crucial saves from goalkeeper Unai Simon.
