Mbappe opens Liga account with brace in Real Madrid win against Betis

Kylian Mbappe scored his first LaLiga goals as a quick-fire double saw Real Madrid beat Real Betis 2-0 on Sunday.

Mbappe had floundered in front of goal in Madrid’s opening three league matches, but the superstar forward hit form with two goals in the space of eight second-half minutes.

Having swept home after latching onto Federico Valverde’s exquisite flick, Mbappe slotted in from the penalty spot following Rui Silva’s foul on Vinicius Junior – that penalty awarded after a VAR check overturned the original offside call.

Vinicius had been Madrid’s standout player in a rejuvenated second-half display, with the Brazil international having hit the woodwork with a deflected shot.

Betis, who looked bright before the break but could not cope with Madrid after it, ultimately offered little after Mbappe’s double, as Los Blancos closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to four points.

The visitors went close early on through Abde Ezzalzouli, who should have kept his header down. Madrid responded 10 minutes later – Eder Militao heading at Silva before poking the follow-up wide.

Mbappe sliced at a Vinicius cutback and arrowed an effort wide, though Madrid could not click into gear until the second half.

With a no-doubt stern team talk from Carlo Ancelotti ringing in their ears, Madrid set the tone when Vinicius’ deflected attempt hit the woodwork, with the offside flag sparring Mbappe’s blushes as he fired over on the rebound.

Yet Mbappe showed greater composure to end his wait for a La Liga goal in the 67th minute, calmly tucking beyond Silva after sublime play from Valverde.

Silva thought he had got lucky after bringing down Vinicius soon after, only for VAR to spot that Madrid’s attacker had stayed onside before he was fouled by the Betis goalkeeper, and Mbappe duly made no mistake from 12 yards to seal the points.

Mbappe had 24 shots in La Liga before scoring his maiden goal in the competiton, with eight of those having been on target, six off target and 10 blocked.

For the first hour, it looked as though his wait might trundle on until after the international break, but when his big chance came, he kept his cool to beat Silva, and then ensured he doubled his tally with a calm penalty. Now he’s up and running.

A special mention for Vinicius, who really clicked through the gears in the second half, but it is Mbappe who has to take the man of the match award.

He became the fourth Madrid player in the 21st century to have scored his first two La Liga goals in the same match, after Ronaldo Nazario, Javier Hernandez, Dani Ceballos and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who actually scored a hat-trick.

Real Madrid: Courtois 7, Carvajal 7, Militao 8, Rudiger 7, Mendy 7, Valverde 8, Tchouameni 7, Ceballos 6, Rodrygo 7, Mbappe 8*, Vinicius 8. Subs: Modric 7, Endrick 6, Garcia 6, Brahim 6.

Real Betis: Silva 6, Perraud 6, Natan 6, Llorente 6, Sabaly 7, Roca 6, Carvalho 7, Ezzalzouil 7, Fornals 6, Rodri 6, Ruibal 5. Subs: Cardoso 6, Juanmi 6, Roque 6, Losada 6, Diao 6.

10’ – Chance! Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis (Ezzalzouli): A great bit of play from Betis sees Perraud drill in a cross from the left flank, which is met by Ezzalzouli. However, with a good chunk of the goal to aim at, he can’t control his header, sending it over. That’s a warning for Madrid, though!

20’ – Chance! Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis (Militao): That could easily have been 1-0 to Madrid! Militao rises high to latch onto the corner and plants a firm header goalwards, but Silva is equal to it. The rebound falls back to the Madrid defender but, from a tight angle, he can only poke it into the side netting.

50’ – Chance! Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis (Vinicius): Vinicius is just inches away from breaking the deadlock after his effort from the edge of the box takes a wicked deflection, with the right-hand upright coming to Betis’ rescue. The ball rebounds out straight to Mbappe, who slices his attempt over with the goal gaping, but the offside flag spares his blushes.

67’ – Goal! Real Madrid 1-0 Real Betis (Mbappe): There we have it! Mbappe has his first La Liga goal and it’s the one that puts Madrid ahead! Rodrygo did brilliantly, cutting in from the right and weaving his way through a crowd of players before finding Valverde, whose exquisite flick put Mbappe through. Vinicius was offside, but Mbappe reacted sharply to stay the right side of that line and beat his marker to the ball, proceeding to slide a cute first-time finish beyond the sprawling Silva.

75’ – Penalty! Real Madrid 1-0 Real Betis: Vinicius was indeed onside, and so the referee changes his decision and points to the spot. Mbappe has picked up the ball… Will it be LaLiga goal number two?

75’ – Goal! Real Madrid 2-0 Real Betis (Mbappe): He makes no mistake! And surely Madrid now have this result in the bag? Mbappe coolly slots his penalty slightly to the right of centre, with Silva lunging the other way. It’s 2-0 to Los Blancos, and their latest Galactico has his second La Liga goal.