Real Madrid 3-2 Leganes: Mbappe free-kick keeps pressure on Barcelona
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Kylian Mbappe ensured Real Madrid kept the pressure on Barcelona in the LaLiga title race as his double helped the reigning champions to a 3-2 win over Leganes.
Mbappe’s 32nd-minute penalty gave Madrid the lead, only for relegation-threatened Leganes to incredibly turn things around and head into half-time 2-1 in front.
Diego Garcia’s instant response to Mbappe’s opener followed by a close-range Dani Raba strike gave the visitors the advantage, but Jude Bellingham restored parity two minutes after the restart.
It still looked as if Madrid would be left to settle for a point, but Mbappe rescued Los Blancos by curling into the bottom-right corner to move Carlo Ancelotti’s men level on points with Barca, who have the edge from their win in October’s Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid v Leganes
Madrid were rewarded for a predictably strong start, finding the net with a Panenka after Oscar Rodriguez was adjudged to have fouled Arda Guler.
But Leganes’ resilience belied their position in the table, with Garcia tapping in to level after Rodriguez turned Valentin Rosier’s right-wing delivery into his path with inadvertent help Lucas Vazquez.
It was Rosier and Rodriguez who came to the fore again as Leganes completed the turnaround four minutes before half-time.
Rosier laid the ball off for Rodriguez at the end of a surging run, and his pull back was coolly slotted home by Raba.
Leganes’ lead did not last long into the second half, though.
Bellingham saw his initial low effort kept out by a fine save from Marko Dmitrovic. Brahim Diaz reacted quickest to the rebound but was denied by a clearance off the line that bounced off the crossbar and back into play, with Bellingham pouncing to fire into the empty net.
Brahim endured more bad luck with the woodwork as he was thwarted by the post in the 54th minute, yet Madrid did find the decisive goal 14 minutes from the end of normal time.
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 29, 2025
Renato Tapia was booked for a foul on Rodrygo on the edge of the area and Mbappe capitalised on the gilt-edged opportunity in style after a superbly worked free-kick routine with Fran Garcia.
Vinicius Junior looked set to lay a hat-trick on a plate for Mbappe in stoppage time. Fittingly, though, the excellent Rosier was there to cut out the pass.
Still, Rosier’s efforts were ultimately in vain, with Leganes remaining in the relegation zone and Madrid turning their attention to Barcelona’s clash with Girona on Sunday.
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