Soccer Football - LaLiga - Leganes v Real Madrid - Estadio Municipal de Butarque, Leganes, Spain - November 24, 2024 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe in action with Leganes' Adria Altimira REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
LEGANES, Spain (Reuters) -Kylian Mbappe ended his goal drought with a close-range strike and midfielder Jude Bellingham scored a header as Real Madrid thrashed Leganes 3-0 on Sunday.
With a game in hand, Real are second in the standings on 30 points, four behind Barcelona, who drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe latched on to Vinicius Jr's through ball and found the net after 10 minutes, but his celebration was short-lived as the goal was ruled out for offside.
The France international has struggled to find his feet in his first season with the LaLiga champions, having gone four games without scoring in all competitions, his last goal coming in a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo last month.
However, the former Paris St Germain striker netted his seventh league goal of the campaign after combining again with Vinicius to give Real the lead two minutes before the break following a Leganes defensive error that Bellingham capitalised on.
"We switched the position of the strikers a bit, with Mbappe on the outside and he did well, as did Vinicius on the inside. The team controlled the game very well," said coach Carlo Ancelotti after the match.
Real enjoyed most of the possession in the second half, giving goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, back in the squad after a muscle injury, little to do.
Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde scored the second from a free kick with an unstoppable long-range effort after Bellingham had been fouled in the 66th minute.
The England international put the icing on the cake in the 85th minute when he headed home after the ball bounced off the crossbar.
Real visit Premier League and Champions League leaders Liverpool on Wednesday before hosting Getafe in the Spanish top flight four days later.
Leganes are 14th in the standings and next face Alaves on Saturday.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby Davis)
