Kylian Mbappé’s first two La Liga goals helped Real Madrid to a much-needed win over 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 rallied to finish in the 67th minute before converting a penalty when Vinicius Junior was sent off by goalkeeper Rui Silva.
The result takes Madrid to second place, four points behind classic Barça’s rivals at the top.
How the game developed
A quiet start burst into life as Betis stopper Silva was forced into a stunning save. Rodrygo’s corner fell to Eder Militao, whose dangerous header arced towards goal before Silva cleared it out of danger.
There was a little whisper left in the Madrid attack, with Vinicius and Mbappé keen to attack from similar areas of the pitch, but there were also moments of good connection between the two world-class players. Mbappé brushed past two defenders before finding Vinicius and charging into the box himself, although the 25-year-old didn’t quite get on the end of the cross.
Rodrygo was involved in another pass ahead of Madrid, getting to the byline before seeing his shot curl into the side netting moments before the half-time whistle.
Mbappé fired a wild effort over the crossbar from just eight yards after the start of the second half but spared his own blushes as he became Madrid’s match-winner by scoring his first two goals in the League
The first goal came in the 67th minute thanks to a clever heel from Federico Valverde. That fine strike helped Mbappe run and finish with confidence, sending the Bernabéu into raptures.
Substitute Brahim Diaz played a role in the first goal and did so again for the second. The Morocco international broke through midfield and played in Vinicius, who sprinted towards goal, tapping the ball past Silva and down. The incident was initially ruled out for offside, but the video assistant referee soon intervened and a penalty was awarded.
Mbappé took the lead, unlike in the last tie against Las Palmas when Vinicius took a spot-kick, but the end result was the same as the summer signing scored his second goal of the night to close the three points.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7/10 – Didn’t make many saves but had to be constantly aware and did enough to deserve his clean sheet.
RB: Dani Carvajal – 5/10 – He didn’t have the nicest evening against Abde Ezzalzouli and eventually a yellow card was opened.
CB: Eder Militao – 7/10 – Looked like a real danger in the third set piece attack, but did his job well at the other end, using his body whenever Betis tried to catch him or Rudiger off guard.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 7/10 – Rarely have they come out of a duel on the losing side, keeping Madrid in Betis’ half.
LB: Ferland Mendy – 7/10 – Did not lose a ground duel and successfully won three tackles.
CM: Federico Valverde – 7/10 – Made a sublime assist for Mbappé’s first goal and, as always, he didn’t stop running.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 6/10 – He was always available to clear any loose ball in midfield and also protected Militao and Rudiger with some good wins in the air.
RW: Rodrygo – 7/10 – Hit some dangerous set pieces and was dangerous running with the ball at his feet, although the scoring opportunity never quite fell his way.
AM: Dani Ceballos – 6/10 – Ceballos, who started with a surprise, was clean and tidy without offering too much in any case.
LW: Vinicius Junior – 8/10 – His relentless run was a constant thorn in Betis’ backs, eventually earning Madrid the chance to go 2-0 up which Mbappé took advantage of.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 9/10 – He struck for the first time in La Liga when he finished smartly from Valverde’s play before converting his penalty. He will be scoring 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
Unused substitutes: Andriy Lunin (GK), Arda Guler, Endrick, Lucas Vazquez, Fran Gonzalez, Jacobo Ramon.
manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 6/10 – It looks like he may have to figure out how to get the best out of Vinicius and Mbappé while making sure they don’t play in the same places, but a win is a win and Ancelotti will be content with that for now.
