Madrid sails past Leganes to close in on Barca
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leader Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, which still has a game in hand on Barcelona, which was pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Sunday (AEDT).
Mbappe ended a goal drought of more than 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of its own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled its advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar with a deflected shot, and Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on its way to victory.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid has now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season, the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
He was satisfied his tactical decision to switch Mbappe's position in attack. Ancelotti elected to switch Mbappe out to the left flank against Leganes, with Vinicius Junior spearheading his attack.
"Mbappe played on the left side, where he did well, and Vinicius on the inside," Ancelotti said.
"We have to highlight their play to open the scoring. They did very, very well. Mbappe scored, after a fantastic assist from Vinicius. Little by little, they're both improving.
"Kylian is more used to playing there and today, for the team and for him, it was the best thing.
"Because playing on the outside brings more effort and Vinicius was back on Thursday. Meanwhile, Kylian had been training here for a week and a half, he was fresher."
Mbappe was not called up by France coach Didier Deschamps for this month's UEFA Nations League games, despite being Les Bleus' captain.
With an injury crisis at the back and a trip to Anfield to face Premier League and UEFA Champions League leader Liverpool coming up, Ancelotti added he was hopeful of Lucas Vazquez, who has a hamstring strain, and Aurelien Tchouameni, who is recovering from a sprained left ankle, returning to action.
He was also upbeat about the contribution of Federico Valverde, who scored from a free-kick while filling in at right-back.
"The truth is that Fede, at the back, has done very well," said Ancelotti of the Uruguayan, who also wore the captain's armband.
"He's a fantastic fullback. After Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, the best right-back in the world. His problem is that he can play at this level in many positions and is the coach's problem to choose the best position for the team.
"Let's see if Lucas and Tchouameni can recover. If not, we will make decisions."
