Kylian Mbappé scored twice as Real Madrid fought off a late comeback attempt from Celta Vigo to secure a 3-2 win on Sunday and stay within four points of the La Liga leaders Barcelona, whom they visit in next weekend’s Clásico.
Real’s fourth win in succession kept their title dream alive with four matches to go in the Spanish top flight, while Celta Vigo remained seventh after their third loss in four league games. “The most important thing was the win. We played a good first half, but then we fell apart … they are a great team and they put us in trouble,” midfielder Federico Valverde told Real Madrid TV.
Real dominated the first hour of the game as Arda Guler broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark, taking a short corner for a one-two with Lucas Vázquez before dispatching an excellent left-footed shot from a tight angle through a gap between defenders.
Mbappé doubled Real’s lead six minutes later as Jude Bellingham’s lobbed ball unleashed the Frenchman, who ran down the opposition half and fired a right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the net.
Guler’s through ball set up Mbappé’s second goal three minutes into the second half, the 26-year-old finding the bottom-right corner to score his 24th league goal of the season. That is one fewer than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who leads the scoring charts.
Manchester United loanee Antony continued his resurgence with a stunning late winner for Real Betis at Espanyol. The Brazilian curled a left-footed effort into the top corner as the clock ticked over to 90 minutes. The hosts had taken the lead via a Roberto Fernández goal in the first half, before Giovani Lo Celso levelled on 85 minutes.
United’s opponents in the Europa League semi-final, Athletic Bilbao, were held to a 0-0 draw in the Basque derby against Real Sociedad. Athletic’s Spain international winger Nico Williams was not involved after recent struggles with injury.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær claimed bragging rights over José Mourinho as Besiktas defeated Fenerbahce 1-0 in the Istanbul derby.
The former Manchester United managers – Solskjær replaced Mourinho at Old Trafford in 2018 – locked horns for the first time in four years in the Super Lig clash at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
The former Spurs midfielder Gedson Fernandes, who had missed an earlier penalty, gave Solskjær the last laugh by hitting the winner shortly before half-time, putting a dent in Fenerbahce’s title hopes.
Atalanta cruised to a 4-0 win at Monza on Sunday, solidifying third place and condemning the hosts to relegation from Serie A. The match was played out against a sombre backdrop after news emerged that a 26-year-old Atalanta fan had been stabbed to death in clashes with Inter supporters on Saturday.
Atalanta are now in control of third place as they have 68 points with three games remaining. Lazio are fourth with 63 points and Juventus, who play Bologna later on Sunday, in fifth with 62.
For Monza, their Serie A run ends with a whimper, as the club sit rock bottom with just 15 points – 12 adrift of Lecce in the last safe spot.
Charles De Ketelaere started the show with a quick brace, first by dribbling past two defenders into the box for a cool finish after 12 minutes, then taking advantage of a Monza defensive error to score his second 11 minutes later. Ademola Lookman then sealed Monza’s fate with a third goal for Atalanta two minutes after the break, finishing with his left foot after shaking off his marker during a run.
The hosts’ misery deepened late in the game when Omari Forson’s diving header, which could have pulled one back, was brilliantly saved on the line by Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi – before Marco Brescianini added a fourth for the visitors two minutes from time.
Juventus played out a tense 1-1 draw at top-four rivals Bologna, as the visitors missed the chance to cement fourth place in the chaotic race for Champions League qualification.
Juventus sit fourth with 63 points, level with Roma and Lazio in fifth and sixth, while Bologna are seventh, one point behind, with three rounds remaining.
Khéphren Thuram gave Juventus a flying start after nine minutes, picking up the ball outside the box, spotting a gap in the Bologna defence and drilling a low shot that slipped beneath keeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Bologna levelled nine minutes into the second half, as Remo Freuler capitalised on a scrappy sequence following a cross and fired the ball home for a share of the spoils.
