Liga: Real Madrid on a stroll in Leganés with a goalscoring Mbappé

Real Madrid was back in La Liga this Sunday evening with a trip to Leganés for the 12th day. The challenge was simple: take advantage of FC Barcelona’s misstep against Celta (2-2) to get closer to first place. For the occasion, Carlo Ancelotti decided to align a new composition with the cascade of injuries. The young Raul Asencio started in central defense with Valverde on the right side. In the middle, Camavinga was positioned as a sentry alongside Bellingham and Ceballos. Finally, a little novelty up front, in addition to Arda Guler as a right winger, it was Kylian Mbappé who was placed on the left wing of the Madrid attack. Vinicius Jr therefore occupied the center-forward role that the Frenchman so little appreciates.

Kylian Mbappé was therefore expected in his preferred position and very quickly, he showed himself much more in his legs. Provoking and hard-hitting, he fired the first strike of the match. His shot, too crushed, lacked precision to worry Dmitrovic. But little by little, the former PSG striker lost the technical thread of the meeting. On several of his team’s offensives, he missed a check, mistimed his pass, got his brushes tangled which disrupted Madrid’s attacks a little, making it more difficult to combine with Bellingham or Vinicius who were technically very comfortable. He found the net after a deep call but once again, he was logically flagged in an offside position (10th).

Mbappé discreet but goalscorer

A little more discreet then, Mbappé took advantage, before the break, of a Vinicius offering to open the scoring and end a series of 4 La Liga matches without scoring. The Brazilian, after good pressing from Bellingham (excellent today), recovered the ball from a defender’s feet and headed for goal. He decided to serve Mbappé who just had to push the ball into the back of the net (43rd, 1-0). Returning from the locker room, Real Madrid seemed to manage their lead without too much trouble. But we had to take the break so as not to be frightened. The Madrid attackers were not particularly able to appear dangerous like an increasingly discreet Kylian Mbappé. But the deliverance came from Federico Valverde.

Shortly after the hour mark, the Uruguayan international took advantage of a free kick combination to send a dry strike which left Dmitrovic helpless (2-0, 66th). At the end of the match, with the spaces behind the Leganés defense, Mbappé stood out but each time lacked precision to score a double (81st). He left his place to Modric just after. Jude Bellingham, who survived this match, also scored his goal with a header (3-0, 85th). With this success, Real Madrid comes back to 4 points behind Barça but with still one game in hand. A way to gain confidence before the C1 shock against Liverpool.