It had been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait as Kylian Mbappe silenced his critics in spectacular fashion, scoring his first La Liga goals to lead Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory over Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, pushing them to second place in the standings.
After netting in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta, the new signing had struggled to score in Madrid’s first three La Liga matches, drawing sharp criticism from the Spanish media.
Mbappe was made to wait for his goals as he squandered a series of chances, finally finding the back of the net in the 67th minute, sweeping the ball past the Betis goalkeeper with his left foot after a well-timed backheel from Fede Valverde.
Eight minutes later, the France captain added a second from the penalty spot and was cheered off the field when he was replaced by Luka Modric in the 84th minute.
The smile on Mbappe’s face was in contrast to the concern that had been evident since scoring his first goal and winning his first trophy in Warsaw on Aug. 14.
On Saturday, coach Carlo Ancelotti hit back at the criticism, insisting that his star recruit was settling in well.
“It’s true that he hasn’t scored, but he’s playing very well and has been very dangerous every time. I don’t think he has any problems adapting,” said Ancelotti, pointing instead to his team’s lack of balance.
Madrid’s 2-0 win takes them to second in the table with eight points, four behind early leaders Barcelona, who eviscerated Real Valladolid 7-0 on Saturday to make it four wins from four in La Liga under new coach Hansi Flick.
Atletico Madrid are third after a late victory in Bilbao on Saturday, while Villarreal are fourth, both also on eight points.
Girona are fifth after picking up their second win of the season in Seville.
Ivan Martin put Girona ahead in the 41st minute, with Abel Ruiz wrapping up a 2-0 win over Sevilla with a penalty in the 73rd minute.
Goals from Carlos Vicente and Luka Romero gave Alaves a 2-0 win over Las Palmas, while Osasuna are in seventh after an exciting 3-2 win at home against Celta Vigo.
Ante Budimir teed up Flavien Boyomo to put the home side ahead after 21 minutes, but the lead was short-lived as Borja Iglesias leveled for Celta.
A Carlos Dominguez own goal just before the break put Osasuna back in front, with Abel Bretones adding a third just after the hour.
Celta were reduced to 10 men when Alfonso Gonzalez was sent off four minutes from time, but an own goal from Moi Gomez was small consolation in the last minute.
