Mbappé hands Real Madrid vital win, gets his revenge against Athletic | OneFootball

Real Madrid defeated Athletic Club 3-0 at San Mamés, with a double from Kylian Mbappé, on matchday 15 of La Liga.

Xabi Alonso's team returned to victory in LaLiga with a resounding win over Athletic. A victory that Real Madrid urgently needed after three consecutive draws and following Barcelona's win over Atlético de Madrid on Tuesday, which confirmed the Catalans at the top.

Athletic was looking to beat the whites again, something they only managed in 1 of their last 20 encounters, precisely the previous one at San Mamés, when Mbappé missed a penalty. But the Basques were never up to the task. And the Frenchman had his long-awaited revenge.

Mbappé had his revenge and gave Real Madrid the victory against Athletic. Real Madrid won the match from the start. At 7 minutes, in their first offensive action, Trent Alexander-Arnold assisted Kylian Mbappé, who put Xabi Alonso's side ahead and set the course for a crucial night to stay in the fight for LaLiga. Before the break, at 42 minutes, another Frenchman, Eduardo Camavinga, after a pass from Mbappé, crowned a brilliant collective play to start sealing a victory that was already clear.

Real Madrid controlled the game and the scoreboard without problems, while Athletic couldn't find a way to respond or create danger. In the second half, at 59 minutes, Mbappé completed the rout with a great right-footed shot from the edge of the area for the definitive 3-0, which dashed the local team's hopes.

For Mbappé, it was a full-fledged revenge. The last time Real Madrid was at San Mamés, a year ago, they lost 1-2 and the Frenchman missed a penalty against Agirrezabala. This time, everything was different.

The bad news for Real Madrid, perhaps, were the discomforts that forced the exits of Alexander-Arnold (Asensio came in) and Camavinga (replaced by Arda Guler). Later, Xabi Alonso gave minutes to Rodrygo, Gonzalo García, and Brahim Díaz. The Argentine Franco Mastantuono, already recovered from his injury, remained on the bench again, just like against Girona.

With this result, Real Madrid breaks the streak of three draws, reaches 36 points and is just one point behind the leader Barcelona. Athletic remains eighth, with 20 points. In the next matchday, the 16th, Real Madrid will host Celta on Sunday the 7th, while Athletic will be at home against Atlético de Madrid on Saturday the 6th.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.