Mbappe scores as Real Madrid thrash RB Leipzig in dominant Champions League win

Los Blancos were celebrating 100 days since Jose Mourinho’s return for a second spell in charge, as they returned to the Bernabeu fortress looking to inflict more European away day misery on Leipzig.

Those Madridistas hoping for a gung-ho start may have been a tad frustrated after a cagey opening, as Kylian Mbappe fired a cross-shot wide in one of their few opportunities of note in the opening exchanges. Martin Demichelis’ men were sensing the chance to inflict a sucker punch, with Thibaut Courtois forced into a fine one-handed save to parry away Romulo Cardoso’s left-footed strike.

Vinicius Junior was looking to take advantage of this European outing in light of his domestic suspension, making a surging run down the left before seeing his subsequent effort parried to safety by Maarten Vandevoordt.

The hosts looked vulnerable at the back though, with Courtois making himself big to deny Christopher Nkunku. However, it was Real who struck first in the 44th minute.

Arda Guler met Federico Valverde’s cutback with a shot which spun awkwardly away from Vandevoordt, and Bernardo Silva was on hand to tap home the loose ball for his first Los Blancos goal.

That served as a springboard for Real’s second just seven minutes after the restart, as Guler applied the faintest of touches to guide the ball over the line after Mbappe headed Jude Bellingham’s cross back across the face of goal.

Mbappe shared a joke with Guler after he stole his goal at the death, but the prolific Frenchman added his name to the scoresheet with a wonderful individual effort in the 83rd minute, curling home from the edge of the area. 

Leipzig halved the deficit two minutes later through Tidiam Gomis’ close-range strike, but fittingly, Yan Diomande had the final word against his former club with a blistering right-footed volley.

That rounded off a fourth successive win in all competitions for Real, who have now scored in 45 consecutive UCL home games. Meanwhile, Leipzig suffered another sobering night on the road with a result which extends their winless run to eight away UCL matches, losing the last six.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Arda Guler (Real Madrid)

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