Following last week’s drab 1-1 draw at Las Palmas, Real Madrid returned to La Liga action with a clash against Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday night, September 1. Having seen arch-rivals Barcelona claim an emphatic 7-0 win over Real Valladolid on Saturday, Los Blancos needed to deliver a sure-footed performance in front of their fans. It was once again a slow start from Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but they got the result they wanted, claiming a solid 2-0 win thanks to a much-needed brace from Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid Gets a Confident Win Over Real Betis
Los Merengues felt Betis out in the opening few minutes, not committing too many bodies forward in the opening quarter. They created their first opportunity in the 21st minute, with Eder Militao dispatching a looping header from a fine Rodrygo corner. Rui Silva, however, was alert to the threat and parried it. In the third minute of injury time, Rodrygo penetrated the box from the left-inside channel and had a go at goal from a tight angle. The Brazilian hit it well, but his effort zipped past the near post.
In the 50th minute, Vinicius Jr. dispatched a snapshot from just inside the area, which slammed against the left post and fell kindly to Mbappe at the center of the box. Just eight yards away from an open net, the Frenchman skied his effort, but luckily, the linesman blew his whistle for offside.
Having narrowly avoided embarrassment, Mbappe got his first goal in La Liga and at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 67th minute. Spotting Fede Valverde’s inch-perfect backheel, Mbappe exhibited his blistering pace to get to the ball and applied a first-time finish to beat the goalkeeper at his near post. Eight minutes later, Mbappe doubled his money, dispatching an excellent penalty to make it 2-0!
Real Madrid came close to getting a third goal in injury time, thanks to teen sensation Endrick. He did ever so well to get away from a pair of Betis defenders and dispatch a fine strike, but Silva was equal to it.
A Man of the Match Performance From Kylian Mbappe
After falling short in his last three matches in La Liga, Mbappe finally got off the mark on Sunday. It was not his finishing that caught our attention, as we are well aware of how competent he is in that department. We were more impressed with how committed he was to helping the team. He constantly ran into space, came short when needed, pressed hard, and kept the defenders on their toes by frequenting the penalty area.
The brace aside, Mbappe created a chance, completed 22 of 27 passes, had nine shots, and took an impressive 15 touches inside the opposition box. He also pulled off two dribbles, delivered two accurate long balls, and won three of six duels. For his impressive showing, Mbappe took home the Man of the Match award.
