A week before the trip to Barcelona, Real Madrid gave their supporters exactly what they wanted: goals, swagger and a reminder that José Mourinho’s team can still play. Without the suspended Vinícius Júnior, sitting out the first game of a four-match ban, Madrid brushed Sevilla aside 4-1 on Sunday night, with 73,907 fans watching at the Bernabéu.
The opening half hour was scrappy, and Sevilla were furious that Arda Güler escaped a red card after a clash with Peque. Minutes later the Turk punished them, curling Yan Diomande’s lay-off into the top corner on 30 minutes. Kylian Mbappe added the second seven minutes later, spinning onto a Jude Bellingham flick, dancing round goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and finishing into an empty net.
After the break Federico Valverde, shifted to right back, cleared a goal-bound Sevilla effort, and the hosts struck again almost at once. Andrés Castrín brought Mbappe down inside the area, and the striker chipped the penalty straight down the middle, Panenka-style. It was his eleventh goal in eleven matches this season. Mbappe’s careless loss of possession let substitute Manu Bueno curl in a consolation with ten minutes left, but Diomande restored the margin within two minutes with a thunderous strike.
That goal made the 19-year-old the youngest Madrid player this century to both set up and score a goal in one league match, a record previously held by Bellingham. There was also a warm welcome for Éder Militão, back for the final minutes after hamstring surgery in April.
Madrid are third with 21 points, one behind Atlético and six adrift of leaders Barcelona, who beat Betis 5-2 on Saturday. A win at the Camp Nou on 25 October would cut the gap to three.
