Kylian Mbappé netted a goal as Real Madrid reduced the gap to Spanish league frontrunner Barcelona to four points with a commanding 3-0 victory at Leganes on Sunday, prior to their highly anticipated Champions League clash against Liverpool.
Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham also found the target to narrow the distance to Barcelona, who dropped points in a 2-2 stalemate at Celta Vigo on Saturday after conceding twice late in the match.
Madrid has one match in hand compared to Barcelona after their fixture at Valencia was suspended due to the catastrophic floods in October.
Madrid will journey to England to battle Premier League table-toppers Liverpool on Wednesday in the Champions League, seeking redemption following their disappointing 3-1 home defeat to AC Milan in their previous European encounter.
Madrid’s offensive strategy proved effective against Leganes with Vinícius Júnior operating centrally and Mbappé deployed wider. The French forward ended his four-match goalless streak for the Spanish giants.
“The positional switch worked brilliantly and we maintained control throughout the contest,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti remarked.
Mbappé expressed his flexibility regarding his playing position under Ancelotti.
“I’ve maintained since day one that I’m comfortable in various positions,” Mbappé stated. “My priority is performing well and converting chances.”
Athletic wins Basque derby
Oihan Sancet scored a 26th-minute winner as Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 in the Basque Country derby.
It was Athletic’s fourth straight home win against Sociedad in the derby.
The victory moved Athletic to fifth place and left Sociedad in 10th position.
Villarreal recovers late
Fourth-place Villarreal scored an equalizer in stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw at sixth-place Osasuna.
Ante Budimir scored twice in the first 20 minutes for Osasuna. Villarreal, which was coming off three straight victories in all competitions, scored through Álex Baena in the 67th and a penalty kick converted by Gerard Moreno three minutes into injury time.
Osasuna, sitting three points behind Villarreal, was coming off a 4-0 loss at Madrid.
Also Sunday, Sevilla ended a two-game losing streak in the league with a 1-0 win against Rayo Vallecano, which played the entire second half with 10 men after Unai López was sent off for a hard foul.
Djibril Sow scored Sevilla’s goal in the 27th.
