Kylian Mbappe continued his hot streak with another goal as Real Madrid eased past Espanyol 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, extending their flawless start under Xabi Alonso.
Los Blancos have now won all five of their opening La Liga fixtures, sitting five points clear of champions Barcelona, who face Getafe on Sunday. Mbappe, fresh from a midweek Champions League brace against Marseille, has scored five in the league already this season.
Militao Opens the Scoring
Despite Espanyol’s bright start to the campaign — they arrived in Madrid third in the table — their wait for a win at the Bernabeu, which dates back to 1996, never looked like ending.
Real dominated from the outset, though it took a thunderous strike from centre-back Eder Militao
to break the deadlock after 22 minutes. His long-range effort arrowed into the top corner, leaving Marko Dmitrovic no chance.
Red-Hot Mbappe Kills the Game
Vinicius Junior, still searching for his best form after being rotated by Alonso, grew into the match and combined with Mbappe to seal the win early in the second half. Driving through midfield, Vinicius slipped the ball across to the Frenchman, who lashed a precise shot inside Dmitrovic’s near post from outside the box.
Mbappe almost had a second later, denied by a superb double save before Vinicius rattled the post.
Bellingham Returns
There was more good news for Madrid as Jude Bellingham made his first appearance since shoulder surgery, coming off the bench alongside Eduardo Camavinga in the closing stages.
“We can’t be doing any better,” captain Dani Carvajal told Real Madrid TV. “The good thing is we’re getting better at playing the way the coach wants… I think the performance was complete and we suffered very little in a defensive sense.”
(with AFP inputs)
