Kylian Mbappe’s first two goals in La Liga helped Real Madrid claim a much-needed victory over Real Betis on Sunday night.
Los Blancos had fallen behind Barcelona in the title race after drawing two of their opening three games but the France captain raced through to finish in the 67th minute before converting a penalty when Vinicius Junior was taken out by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
The result takes Madrid back up to second, four points behind Clasico rivals Barca at the top.
After Betis custodian Silva was forced into an outstanding save, a calm start finally sprang to life. Eder Militao received a dipping corner from Rodrygo, and Silva deflected the dangerous header that was heading towards the goal.
Vinicius and Mbappe usually wanted to attack from similar locations on the pitch, so there was still some spluttering in Madrid’s attack, but there were also instances when the two elite players linked up well. Though he was unable to completely get on the end of the cross, Mbappe manoeuvred past two players, found Vinicius, and charged into the area.
Just before the halftime whistle blew, Rodrygo had another near-miss for Madrid when he reached the byline and saw his shot get hooked up in the sidenetting.
After the second half began, Mbappe unleashed a reckless shot that went over the crossbar from a mere eight yards out, but he saved face by becoming Madrid’s match-winner with his first two La Liga goals.
Finally, in the 67th minute, a superb backheel from Federico Valverde produced the first goal. The Bernabeu was in a state of frenzy as Mbappe raced clear and finished with confidence thanks to that brilliant flick.
Brahim Diaz, the substitute, contributed to both the first goal and the second score. The international for Morocco darted into the middle of the pitch, finding Vinicius, who raced through on goal, touched the ball past Silva, and went down. The video assistant referee quickly stepped in and awarded a penalty after originally dismissing the action for offside.
Unlike the previous time out against Las Palmas, when Vinicius took the penalty, Mbappe stepped up, but the outcome remained the same as the summer signing scored his second goal of the game to seal all three points.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7/10 – Didn’t make loads of saves but had to be constantly aware and did enough to deserve his clean sheet.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 5/10 – Didn’t have the most enjoyable evening against Abde Ezzalzouli and eventually talked his way into a yellow card.
CB: Eder Militao – 7/10 – Looked a real danger in the attacking third from set pieces but did his job at the other end well, using his body whenever Betis tried to catch him or Rudiger off guard.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 7/10 – Rarely came out of a duel on the losing side, keeping Madrid penned in Betis’ half.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 7/10 – Didn’t lose a ground duel and successfully won three tackles.
CM: Federico Valverde – 7/10 – Provided a sublime assist for Mbappe’s first goal and, as ever, did not stop running.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – Was always on hand to mop up any loose ball in midfield and protected Militao and Rudiger with some good wins in the air, too.
RW: Rodrygo – 7/10 – Whipped in some dangerous set pieces and was dangerous running with the ball at his feet, even though the scoring opportunity never quite dropped for him.
AM: Dani Ceballos – 6/10 – Handed something of a surprise start, Ceballos was neat and tidy without offering too much in either box.
LW: Vinicius Junior – 8/10 – His incessant running was a constant thorn in Betis’ back, eventually winning Madrid the chance to go 2-0 up which Mbappe took.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 9/10 – Struck for the first time in La Liga by finishing smartly from Valverde’s flick before converting his penalty. He’ll be netting a lot more in the top flight before he leaves Spain.
Substitutes
SUB: Brahim Diaz (65′ for Ceballos) – 7/10
SUB: Fran Garcia (66′ for Mendy) – 6/10
SUB: Luka Modric (85′ for Mbappe) – N/A
SUB: Endrick (89′ for Rodrygo) – N/A
Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Arda Guler, Endrick, Lucas Vazquez, Fran Gonzalez, Jacobo Ramon.
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 6/10 – It looks like he may need to figure out how to get the best out of Vinicius and Mbappe while making sure they don’t play in the same places, but a win’s a win and Ancelotti will be content with that for now.