Real Madrid Defeat Rayo Vallecano as Kylian Mbappe Scores Twice
On Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu, Kylian Mbappé scored two goals, helping Real Madrid secure a comfortable four-goal win against Rayo Vallecano. The home side scored three times in the first 35 minutes, making it clear early that the LaLiga match was over. From the first kick, Madrid set the pace. In the 14th minute, the defender Florian Lejeune of Rayo brought down Alvaro Carreras within the penalty area, and Mbappe took the penalty, scoring his sixth goal of the current season. The home team then increased their lead just three minutes afterwards when Lejeune handed the ball directly to Vinicius Junior in a dangerous position, and Carreras made use of the mistake, quickly passing to Mbappe before shooting the ball into the net. Manager Carlo Ancelotti awarded Yan Diomande his first starting place since he had joined the club in August. Diomande and Vinicius played on the wings and found plenty of space when attacking down the sides. The width they created led to Madrid's third goal in the 34th minute. Vinicius sped down the left wing and passed to Jude Bellingham, who was just inside the penalty area. Bellingham accepted the pass and calmly scored by hitting the ball with his outside foot in the bottom corner. Mbappe came close to extending Madrid's lead just before halftime, but his shot hit the goalpost. In the first period, Rayo posed little attacking threat, and their only real opportunity came from a long-range strike by Andrei Ratiu, which goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois safely pushed away. The situation changed early in the second half, with the Madrid side soon showing a lack of intensity. Right away, Rayo Vallecano responded when Pedro Diaz hit the post. In the 51st minute, the visitors broke through Madrid's defence after a poor pass in their defensive third, and Sergio Camello took advantage by guiding the ball between the legs of central defender Ibrahima Konate before slotting it into the corner of the net.  Because of the goal, Rayo maintained comfortable possession in the Madrid half and put Courtois on the move time and again. Ancelotti became furious at the sudden weakness he saw on the sidelines. The crowd shared their manager's anger and showered the players with whistles. Madrid were able to bring the match to a stable conclusion and once more posed a threat in the final phase. When there were 13 minutes still left to play, the substitute Arda Guler carried out a dangerous cross which Denzel Dumfries met well, but goalkeeper Emil Audero made a magnificent save to prevent the goal. Madrid then put an end to the visitors' last hopes in the 91st minute. Mbappe started a quick counter-attack and scored cleanly to make it his second goal of the night. He now has seven goals in six matches in all competitions. If you are following the LaLiga title race, Real Madrid now have 12 points and are level with Barcelona, the league leaders, who play Levante on Sunday. In other league matches, Espanyol won 2-0 against Osasuna after Roberto Fernandez scored twice early on. Racing Santander came from behind to beat Alaves 2-1. Athletic Club and Elche drew at San Mamés; Facundo Buonanotte put Elche ahead from the penalty spot in the second half, but Athletic captain Inaki Williams equalised 11 minutes from the end to share the points.
