Spanish giants Real Madrid romped to a dominant win over recently promoted Real Oviedo on Sunday as Kylian Mbappe led the way for the Capital City club at the Estadio Carlos Tartiere.
French superstar Kylian
Mbappe struck twice, while Vinicius Junior added the third goal for his side to out the result beyond any doubt.
Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso made significant changes to his starting lineup from Madrid’s 1-0 win against Osasuna, dropping Vinicius and Trent Alexander-Arnold for Rodrygo Goes and club captain Dani Carvajal, who returned from injury.
However, Vinicius responded impressively by providing an assist and scoring a goal during his half-hour cameo.
Argentinian teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono made his full debut in another change for Los Blancos.
The 18-year-old showcased his explosive dribbling ability early on by bursting past two defenders into the Oviedo box, before going down and appealing to the uninterested referee.
A rare attack by the hosts saw Leander Dendoncker run onto a through ball and attempt to catch Thibaut Courtois off guard with a chipped effort in the 23rd minute. The Belgian goalkeeper quickly retreated and easily caught the ball.
Madrid nearly broke the deadlock when Arda Guler’s shot from inside the box was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.
The Turkish international provided an assist as he drilled a pass to Mbappe’s feet in the 37th minute. The Frenchman turned and fired across Escandell.
The goal sparked furious protests from the home side as Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni appeared to follow through strongly on Dendoncker while regaining possession in the build-up.
Madrid almost doubled their lead five minutes into the second period when a defensive mix-up resulted in a clearance sliced straight into Escandell’s hands.
Rodrygo and the lively Mastantuono made way for Vinicius and Brahim Diaz just after the hour mark.
Diaz immediately created a golden opportunity for the charging Fede Valverde with a cushioned pass, but Escandell produced a fingertip save to keep the score at 1-0.
Kwasi Sibo came close to delighting the home crowd when he struck the post for Oviedo in the 81st minute, with Courtois rooted to the spot.
That chance served as a wake-up call for Madrid. Vinicius won the ball two minutes later and drove towards the box before slipping a disguised pass to Mbappe, who slotted home on the first attempt.
The Brazilian then scored in the 93rd minute when Diaz found him in space, and he coolly finished.
Elsewhere, Villarreal hammered Girona 5-0 at home, with new signing Tajon Buchanan netting a hat-trick to open his La Liga account.
A second consecutive defeat to start the season leaves Girona, who played Champions League football last season, bottom of the table with seven goals conceded and none scored.
The home side raced into a 4-0 lead within 30 minutes, with Nicolas Pepe and Rafa Marin scoring, while Buchanan grabbed a brace.
The Canadian secured his third four minutes after the hour to complete a scintillating performance by the Yellow Submarine.
Real Sociedad fought back from being 2-0 down at half-time in the Basque country to earn a point against Espanyol.
Pere Milla and Javi Puado gave the Catalans the lead, before Ander Barrenetxea and Orri Oskarsson hit back for Sociedad within eight second-half minutes. Ante Budimir’s ninth-minute goal gave Osasuna a 1-0 win over 10-man Valencia.
