Real Madrid closed the gap to four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona with a commanding victory over Leganes.
Jude Bellingham scored his second league goal in as many matches, contributing to a comfortable win ahead of their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring just before half-time, netting his seventh league goal of the season after Vinicius Junior delivered a low cross into the box.
Federico Valverde extended the lead in the second half with a powerful free-kick, beating goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic at the near post.
Bellingham sealed the win in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to head in Brahim Diaz’s deflected shot off the crossbar.
Earlier, Mbappe thought he had scored from a Vinicius pass, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Teenager Arda Guler, given a rare start, forced Dmitrovic into an impressive save midway through the first half.
Mbappe missed a clear chance to double his tally in the 83rd minute, his rushed shot testing the keeper’s reflexes but failing to find the net.
Leganes, still without a victory against Real Madrid, failed to trouble returning goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and didn’t register a shot on target.
With Eder Militao sidelined due to an ACL injury, youngster Raul Asencio filled in at central defense, while Valverde played the full match at right-back as Carlo Ancelotti managed Real’s injury challenges.
This win lifts Real Madrid above Atletico Madrid into second place, four points behind Barcelona with a game in hand.
Real’s ‘new golden age’, says club president Perez
Real are in a “new golden age” according to club president Florentino Perez, who added their “legacy has flourished” in recent years.
The Spanish giants are regularly a dominant force both domestically and in Europe and, in the past decade, have won the Champions League six times and La Liga four.
They have also often had some of the world’s best players for them and this summer brought in France star Mbappe, who had scored 256 goals in 308 games at PSG before leaving the French side earlier this year.
“We are experiencing a new golden age having won 56 trophies in the last 14 seasons: 29 trophies in football and 27 in basketball,” Perez said at Real Madrid’s general assembly on Sunday.
“The legacy of Real Madrid has flourished in recent years.”
Despite their recent success, Real have not had the best of starts to the current season.
They won both La Liga and the Champions League last season but are currently second to Barcelona in the former and 18th in the league phase of the latter.
The format of the Champions League was changed for this season, and Perez believes the competition has been damaged as a result.
“The new Champions League format has shown, as we predicted, that it is not the solution to the problems,” he added.
“Uefa has increased the number of matches, but each match counts for much less than before. And the competition will only stir fans’ passion at the end of the season and not at the beginning, as one would expect.”
Florentino Perez has remained a steadfast advocate for the European Super League (ESL), a concept Real Madrid joined alongside 11 other European clubs in April 2021. However, the project quickly collapsed following widespread fan backlash.
In a pivotal ruling last year, the European Court of Justice declared that UEFA and FIFA’s attempts to prevent clubs from participating in the ESL were unlawful.
On Sunday, Perez reaffirmed his support for the proposed competition, stating:
“We have a unique opportunity to create a new governance and competition model that prioritizes both player welfare and the passion and excitement of the fans.”
“There is a real opportunity to change course, to revitalise football and restore it to grandeur. And the sooner we do it, the better.”