Mbappe double drives Real Madrid past Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu

Kylian Mbappe scored twice, while Alvaro Carreras and Jude Bellingham were also on target in a first-half display that left Rayo with too much to recover from. The result extended Madrid’s long unbeaten home run, which now stands at 16 wins and two draws since January 1996.

Match highlight

Real had scored four goals in both of their previous home league matches this season, and they were close to repeating that total before half-time.

Carreras played a key role in the opening two goals. First, he got past Florian Lejeune inside the penalty area and drew a clumsy foul. Mbappe stepped up and sent the penalty away with confidence.

Three minutes later, Rayo made another costly mistake. Lejeune’s careless back pass put Vinicius Junior under pressure, and Madrid quickly turned the loose ball into an attack. Mbappe combined neatly with Carreras before squaring the ball for the defender to finish.

Rayo had a new third-choice goalkeeper in Benat San Jose, but Emil Audero was the man keeping them in the match during the middle part of the first half. The substitute goalkeeper spilled a fierce Vinicius strike but reacted in time to push the ball away from Mbappe, who was ready to pounce.

Madrid’s third goal came before the interval. Vinicius drove directly at the Rayo defence and pulled the ball back for Bellingham, who finished with a powerful outside-of-the-left-foot strike.

Thibaut Courtois was still needed at the other end. He made a couple of saves, then could only watch as Pedro Diaz struck the post with a powerful effort just after the restart.

Rayo soon found a goal. They won the ball high up the pitch and worked it to Sergio Camello, who produced an improvised toe-poke finish into the far corner. It was Rayo’s 12th consecutive LaLiga match with a goal.

The visitors tried to build on that momentum during an open spell, but Madrid regained control late on. Mbappe finished a fast counterattack with precision to make it 4-1 and complete his 14th LaLiga brace for Los Blancos.

The win means Real Madrid have lost only two home matches since the start of last season, with 19 wins and one draw in the rest. They moved level on points with Barcelona, although their title rivals have played one game fewer.

Rayo’s away problems continue. Los Franjirrojos have won only two of their last 16 LaLiga trips, drawing four and losing 10.