Kylian Mbappe scores twice as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to just one point.
BILBAO: Kylian Mbappe scored two goals and provided an assist to power Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Wednesday.
The result cuts Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga back down to a single point.
Mbappe opened the scoring early with a fine finish from a Trent Alexander-Arnold pass, his first assist in the Spanish league.
Eduardo Camavinga headed in Madrid’s second before half-time from a Mbappe knockdown.
The French superstar sealed the win in the second half by slamming home his 16th league goal of the campaign.
“I think the team played a complete game today, concentrating for the whole 90 minutes,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso.
“It was probably the best match we’ve had, at a difficult place to go, at a big moment, and we took it on calmly.”
Alonso praised Mbappe’s form and his connection with Vinicius Junior on the night.
The only negatives for Madrid were apparent injuries to both Alexander-Arnold and Camavinga, who were substituted in the second half.
Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Lekue admitted his side were second best.
“They were stronger than us,” Lekue said.
“We tried to play our game and couldn’t, no matter what we did.” – AFP
