Real Madrid won 3-0 at Racing Santander on Sunday afternoon in LaLiga. Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring from the penalty spot. Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande added two more before the 37th minute at El Sardinero, so the game was over as a contest before half-time.
The win keeps José Mourinho’s team in the title race. Real Madrid are third with 27 points from 11 games. Barcelona lead on 30, and Atlético Madrid are second on 28. Racing are 16th with 11 points.
Three goals in 25 minutes
Madrid got the first break after 11 minutes. Mbappé went down in the box after a tackle, and the referee pointed to the spot. Not everyone agreed with the call. Mbappé sent a low penalty past Julen Agirrezabala, who went the right way but could not reach it.
Ten minutes later it was 2-0. Arda Güler found Bellingham with a pass on the counter, and the England midfielder ran clear, went around Agirrezabala and rolled the ball into an empty net.
The third goal came from Diomande. The ball dropped to the young Ivorian winger near the edge of the area, and he hit it first time into the top corner. It was a fine finish, and Racing’s heads dropped after it.
Courtois keeps a clean sheet
Racing had their chances. Early in the game, with Madrid only one goal up, Iker Luque fired in a low shot and Thibaut Courtois got down well to save it. Courtois missed time with the flu last week, and this was a good return for the Belgian goalkeeper.
In the second half the home side pushed more and were given a penalty for handball. VAR asked the referee to look at the monitor, and after the check he cancelled the penalty. The crowd at El Sardinero were not happy. In stoppage time Bellingham put the ball in the net again, but the flag was up for offside.
Our take
This was a calm and grown-up away win from Madrid. They did the hard work early, scored with their first good chances and then managed the game. Mourinho will like the clean sheet as much as the goals.
Diomande is the name to watch. He is still new to this level, and he already plays with no fear next to Mbappé and Bellingham. If he keeps scoring goals like this one, he will be hard to leave out.
Barcelona and Atlético are still ahead, so Madrid cannot slip. But on this form they will be close to the top all season.
Can Real Madrid catch Barcelona this season? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Kylian Mbappé by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Jude Bellingham by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Yan Diomande by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), El Sardinero by Emilio Gómez Fernández (CC BY-SA 4.0).
