Mbappe and Bellingham keep Madrid in touch
Two set-piece goals from Kylian Mbappe and one from Jude Bellingham earned Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Leganes to keep Carlo Ancelotti's side in touch with Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga table.
Both sides are on 63 points, with Barcelona set to play its match against Girona on Monday (AEDT) having just beaten Osasuna on Friday (AEDT) to stay on top of the pile.
Atletico Madrid's challenge, meanwhile, is falling away after a draw with Espanyol left it six point adrit of the top two.
After a cagey first 20 minutes at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid eventually went ahead through a controversial penalty awarded after Arda Guler went down in the box.
Replays suggested Oscar Rodríguez had got a foot to the ball before Guler tumbled, but a brief check from the video assistant referee confirmed the onfield decision to award the spot-kick.
Mbappe stepped up to slot a cheeky Panenka past Marko Dmitrovic for the goal, despite the Leganes goalkeeper almost adjusting to keep it out.
Neverthless, Leganes responded immediately through Diego Garcia, who touched home after a blinding attack from the restart by the visitors.
They then went ahead before half-time after a similarly swift break on 41 minutes, ending with a clean strike from Dani Raba that beat Andriy Lunin, who was in Madrid's goal for the injured Thibaut Courtois, who looked on glumly from the stands along with the rest of Madrid's supporters.
But less than two minutes after half-time, Madrid levelled courtesy of some Bellingham persistance.
Having seen his initial shot from just inside the box saved well by Dmitrovic, the England star was quickest to the ball from the ensuing scramble, sliding in to put it into the roof of the net.
Diego Garcia fluffed a great chance when put through on goal to push Leganes back in front barely two minutes later, before Brahim Diaz almost got Madrid ahead just before the hour with a shot that struck the right-hand uprght.
But Madrid would eventually regain its lead through another Mbappe set-piece, this time a beautifully struck free-kick from the edge of the box, which put the seal on the result and the pressure back on Barcelona.
