Mbappe strikes after China controversy as Real Madrid beat Santander

Paris, November 2 — Kylian Mbappe overcame a week of turmoil by netting a penalty, contributing to Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Racing Santander in Barcelona. The French forward narrowly missed out on the Ballon d'Or to Harry Kane of Bayern Munich on Monday and had to issue an apology after a social media backlash following a video of him joking about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

As a result, Real Madrid's match, alongside other Spanish fixtures that weekend, was not broadcast on Chinese state television. Jude Bellingham and Yan Diomande also put the ball in the net, keeping Madrid within three points of league leaders Barcelona, who dismantled Alaves 6-1 on Saturday. Jose Mourinho's side have claimed six wins in a row across all competitions and are currently one point behind city rivals Atletico Madrid, who defeated Levante 2-0.

"In the first half we were very strong, we came out to play well," Mourinho said. "The team is growing, playing well, I think we should have scored even more goals with the chances we had." Mbappe won a soft penalty when he went down under minimal pressure from Matteo Prati, scoring to give Madrid the lead in the 11th minute of the match at the Sardinero stadium.

At 27 years old, he has scored 12 league goals this season, trailing only Barcelona's Raphinha with 15 in the scoring charts. Madrid dominated the game, and a precise pass from Arda Guler led to Bellingham scoring his 50th goal since joining Madrid back in 2023. Guler missed a chance for the third after Mbappe set him up, and Diomande secured the win with a goal from close range.

Racing Santander, currently 16th in La Liga, suffered their first home defeat of the season. Earlier, Sevilla lost 3-1 to Getafe, dropping into mid-table, while Valencia, 19th, defeated Elche 1-0 to stay within a point of safety. Athletic Bilbao, seventh, held off Real Sociedad, 2-1, in a thrilling Basque derby at San Mames. Unai Simon made several crucial saves for Athletic, ensuring the victory.