Kylian Mbappe scored again as Real Madrid defeated Racing Santander 3-0 for its sixth straight win across all competitions and kept pace with Spanish leader Barcelona on Sunday, while Lazio took a three-point lead at the top of Serie A after beating Cagliari 2-1.
Arsenal beat Liverpool 1-0 in a rare win at Anfield to go top of the Premier League. Lazio took full advantage of defending champion Inter Milan’s loss to city rival AC Milan on Saturday but needed a late winner from striker Andrea Pinamonti.
The Spanish league held a moment of silence before every match this weekend to remember the victims of the deadly train crash in Spain.
Mbappe scored his 12th league goal this season to put Madrid ahead with an 11th-minute penalty, having been fouled himself. He was involved in Jude Bellingham’s goal - the England midfielder’s 50th goal with Madrid - midway through the first half.
“We played very well. It was very important to win after the victory at Camp Nou, so we are very happy,” Bellingham said. “Reaching 50 goals with Real Madrid is very special. Not only for me and my dreams but also for the team,” he added.
Madrid was coming off a 2-1 win at Barcelona in the previous round. Summer signing Yan Diomande’s powerful strike made it 3-0 before halftime.
“We are improving,” Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said. “We’ve been together for less than four months, and it’s a short time. But we’ve been progressively improving.”
Madrid is in third place, one point behind Atletico Madrid and three behind free-scoring Barcelona.
On Tuesday, Mbappe apologized for comments in which he apparently referred to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, as a dictator, after facing backlash and losing brand deals with Chinese companies.
That came a day after he finished second behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane in the men’s Ballon d’Or award. Athletic Bilbao overcame Real Sociedad 2-1 in the Basque Country derby, with Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer scoring in the first half.
Also in Spain, struggling Getafe rallied to beat Sevilla 3-1 with forward Martin Satriano setting up the equalizer for striker Enes Unal and then scoring himself. Orel Mangala netted a late third. Valencia won 1-0 at Elche.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni struck a young fan in the stands with a shot early in the second half. The kid did not appear to be seriously hurt but started crying immediately. After the game, Tchouameni met with the child and his father and gave them an autographed jersey.
Mbappe also briefly talked to them, joking that Tchouameni doesn’t know how to shoot.
Arsenal earned its first win at Anfield in 14 years, thanks to Kai Havertz’s first-half goal. Arsenal hadn’t won at Liverpool since 2012, when current manager Mikel Arteta was commanding the team’s midfield. Havertz scored the winner in the 16th minute.
The Gunners leapfrogged Manchester City into top spot and hold a three-point lead. Niko Ilicevic made his debut in Frankfurt’s 3-1 win over Hamburg at 16 years, 1 day old, matching Youssoufa Moukoko (for Borussia Dortmund in 2020) as the youngest player in Bundesliga history.
Ilicevic came into the game in stoppage time. Frankfurt also beat Hamburg 3-1 in the German Cup on Tuesday.