Real Madrid temporarily distanced themselves, ten points ahead of FC Barcelona in the battle for the top of LaLiga. On Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti’s team fulfilled their duty against the bottom team, Valladolid (0-3) in another gray performance from a ‘merengue’ side that relied, once again, on the saves of Thibaut Courtois and the striking power of their forwards to add another three points.
Valladolid put up a fight at the José Zorrilla with a much more offensive setup than expected. David Torres tested the Belgian with a powerful shot right after the match startedwhile Madrid responded with a quick counterattack capped off by a deflected shot from Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman would later have his revenge in the opponent’s area, scoring a brace that allows the whites to escape at the top.
Earlier, Atlético de Madrid (2nd) had drawn at home against Villarreal (1-1)leaving the ‘colchoneros’ four points behind the top spot. Barcelona, for their part, must beat Valencia on Sunday in Montjuïc (21:00 CEST) to maintain a seven-point distance and also cut points against the ‘rojiblancos’.
A wall between Mbappé and Bellingham was enough to put Madrid ahead
However, Madrid struggled to reflect the logical superiority between the leader and the bottom team of LaLiga. Sylla again tested Courtois’s reflexes in the 24′ with a long-range shot that the ‘1’ saved with difficulty. Rodrygo responded for the visitors, catching a rebound after another shot from Bellingham, but his shot went slightly wide.
-About half an hour into the match, the Englishman rubbed the lamp to create a lethal wall with Mbappé that left the Frenchman one-on-one against Hein. The Bondy native finished with a powerful shot, impossible for the Estonian goalkeeper. It was Madrid’s best play in a first half that ended with a scuffle after a foul by Bellingham that resulted in a yellow card for the ‘5’.
Valladolid improved in the second half, but Mbappé sealed the deal
After the break, Valladolid came out with renewed spirits in search of the equalizer. Marcos André claimed a penalty from Asencio after a push from the Madrid central defenderbut the referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer ordered the play to continue. The contact existed, but the Brazilian forward exaggerated the fall. Just when the pucelanos were looking better, the sentence came, again with Mbappé as the protagonist.
A cut from Valverde allowed Rodrygo and ‘Kiki’ to launch a counterattack. The Brazilian waited for the arrival of the ‘9’, filtering a pass that the French international converted into a stunning goal with a lethal cross shot. After that, the locals lowered their arms and Madrid rounded off the thrashing with another penalty scored by the Bondy native. With his ‘hat-trick’, Kylian is now just one goal behind Robert Lewandowski in the race for the Pichichi (‘Lewy’ remains at 16).
Technical sheet of the match Valladolid 0-3 Real Madrid
- Valladolid, 0: Karl Hein; Luis Pérez, Javi Sánchez, David Torres, Lucas Rosa; Anuar, Mario Martín, Amallah; Iván Sánchez (Kike Pérez, min. 62), Mamadou Sylla (Chuki, min. 86) and Marcos André (Latassa, min. 79).
- Real Madrid, 3: Courteous; Asensio (Alaba, min. 68), Tchouaméni, Rüdiger, Fran García; Ceballos (Modric, min. 68), Valverde (Aguado, min. 90+1), Bellingham; Rodrygo (Güler, min. 73), Brahim and Mbappé (Endrick, min. 90+1).
- Goals: 0-1, Mbappé (min. 30); 0-2, Mbappé (min. 57); 0-3, Mbappé (min. 90, p.).
- Referee: Mateo Busquets Ferrer. He booked Mario Martín and Amallah for Valladolid. Also Ceballos, Bellingham, and Mbappé for Real Madrid. Towards the end, he sent off Mario Martín for a penalty on Bellingham.
- Stadium: José Zorrilla.
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 21 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25
