Kylian Mbappe scored his fourth goal in four starts with a long-range strike to put Real Madrid on their way to a 4-2 home win over Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday.
Madrid’s top scorer Mbappe, who also scored the opening goal in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Pachuca in the Intercontinental Cup in Qatar, shot into space from a central position outside the penalty area after 10 minutes and fired a fierce shot past goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez.
The French striker missed his side’s 3-3 draw at Rayo Vallecano with a thigh injury eight days earlier, but returned to score a memorable 13th goal in 23 appearances in all competitions in 2024/25.
What a goal from Kylian Mbappé 🤯
The Frenchman shoots from distance and gives Real Madrid the lead against Sevilla 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/1l9CZwRPLz
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) December 22, 2024
Madrid vs Sevilla
Seven minutes later, new signing Mbappe could have scored a second goal when he sent a shot over the crossbar from Lucas Vasquez’s cross.
Federico Valverde made up for that miss with a sensational finish in the 20th minute, securing the ball in a similar position to Mbappe’s goal and firing home from a short corner routine.
Rodrygo added a relatively routine third goal for Madrid 11 minutes before half-time, completing a clever team move involving Jude Bellingham, Vasquez and Brahim Diaz.
Sevilla equalized that goal with a goal of their own a minute later when Isaac Romero headed home from Juanlu Sanchez’s assist, but eight minutes after half-time Diaz scored Madrid’s fourth goal from a pass from Mbappé.
Dodi Lukebakio responded for Sevilla with five minutes left, beating Thibaut Courtois with a shot at the Madrid goalkeeper’s near post with five minutes left.
Special strike from Fede Valverde 😱
The Uruguayan hits home from distance and doubles Real Madrid’s lead 💥 pic.twitter.com/G606b7lKSy
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) December 22, 2024
LaLiga table: Atletico, Real Madrid, Barcelona
Madrid’s third consecutive home win since their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on October 26 took them two points clear of Hansi Flick’s side.
They are one point behind leaders Atlético Madrid, who secured a 2-1 comeback win at Barca on Saturday thanks to Alexander Sorloth’s 96th-minute winner.
Their opponents suffered their third consecutive away league defeat despite being 3-1 up at Atleti with 29 minutes remaining before losing 4-3 on December 8th.
Madrid next travel to second-bottom Valencia on January 3 (8:00 p.m. GMT), while Atleti play a home league game against Osasuna on January 12 (3:15 p.m.).
Barca have lost four and drawn two in their last seven LaLiga games. The next league game will take place in Getafe on January 18th (8 p.m.).