Kylian Mbappe led Real Madrid to a 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico, handing the La Liga leaders their first defeat of the season.
The French star scored a brace, raising his tally to eleven goals in ten matches. He also gave his coach Jose Mourinho a successful return to El Clasico, thirteen years after the end of his first spell with the Spanish giants.
Mbappe’s brace makes the difference
Real Madrid opened the scoring in the 41st minute from a cross by Yan Diomande. Gerard Martin tried to clear the ball, but it deflected off Mbappe and went into the net.
On the other side, Lamine Yamal missed a chance to equalize before the break, failing to score from close range.
At the start of the second half, the two sides exchanged attacks. Barcelona then drew level in the 61st minute, when Raphinha capitalized on a pass from Pedri and fired the ball into the net.
But Mbappe settled the match three minutes from the end. He latched onto a cross from substitute Eduardo Camavinga, slotting the ball into an empty net following a quick counterattack.
Real Madrid closes in on Barcelona
With this win, Real Madrid moved up to 24 points in third place, cutting the gap with Barcelona to three points. Atletico Madrid sits in second place with 25 points.
In other results, Athletic Bilbao beat Getafe 4-0, while Real Sociedad defeated Levante 2-1. Real Betis also drew 0-0 with Celta Vigo.
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