Mbappé scores as Real Madrid beats Racing 3-0

Kylian Mbappé scored the opening goal in a 3-0 victory for Real Madrid over Racing Santander on Sunday. The win allowed the visitors to maintain pressure on league leaders Barcelona. La Liga teams observed a minute of silence before matches to honor victims of a recent train accident in Spain.

Mbappé was fouled in the 11th minute and converted the resulting penalty. He also assisted Jude Bellingham for the second goal in the first half. Yan Diomandé, a summer signing, struck a powerful shot to make it 3-0 before halftime. Jose Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager, called it a good victory during an important week.

Mourinho noted that the team was thinking about their upcoming Champions League match against AEK Athens. He said he left some players on the bench to rest them for Wednesday. The manager added that he hopes four or five changes will be enough to win that game as well. He emphasized that Spanish football wants to see its teams succeed.

Real Madrid now sits in third place in La Liga. They are one point behind Atlético de Madrid and three points behind Barcelona. Barcelona has been scoring at a high rate recently. Mbappé’s goal brings his league total for the season to 12.

The match follows a period of public scrutiny for Mbappé. He apologized on Tuesday for comments where he referred to Mao Zedong as a dictator. The remarks drew criticism and led to the loss of several brand deals with Chinese companies. This apology came one day after he placed second in the Ballon d’Or voting, behind Harry Kane of Bayern Munich.

In other La Liga action, Getafe beat Sevilla 3-1. Getafe came from behind to win. Martín Satriano provided an assist for Enes Ünal to equalize and then scored a goal himself. Orel Mangala added a late third goal for Getafe.