Kylian Mbappé ended his scoring drought in the Spanish league with two goals in less than 10 minutes, helping Real Madrid secure a 2-0 victory over Real Betis on Sunday.
Mbappé, who was a major signing for Madrid this year, had scored once in their UEFA Super Cup win against Atalanta last month, but had not scored in his last three Spanish league games.
“I was excited to score in this iconic stadium, the best in the world,” Mbappé said. “But the most important thing was the win.”
He scored the first goal at the Santiago Bernabeu with a low left-footed shot after a clever backheel pass from Federico Valverde in the 67th minute. Mbappé then scored again with a penalty kick in the 75th minute after Vinicius Junior was fouled.
Madrid had drawn two of their first three matches, with their only win coming against Valladolid.
This win moved the defending champions to within four points of leaders Barcelona, who have won all their games so far.
“After the game against Las Palmas, we knew we needed to win, and we did,” Mbappé said. “It was a tough match, but we are Real Madrid and we managed to win.”
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said there was no pressure on Mbappé to break his scoring drought.
“For him, it was important to score, but we look at the team’s overall performance, which was better than in the last match. It was a positive step forward.”
The result kept Betis winless after three games; they had drawn their first two matches.
