By Ruairidh Barlow; Reuters.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid closed the gap on LaLiga leaders Barcelona to six points with a 4-1 win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, a week before the rivals meet.
Real, who have won three straight games in all competitions following the international break, climbed to third on 21 points, one behind Atletico Madrid, while Sevilla are sixth on 14.
Elsewhere, Osasuna withstood second-half pressure from Racing Santander to win 2-0 in Jagoba Arrasate’s first game back as manager.
Two flying saves from Ionut Radu denied Alaves a point in a 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo, while Real Sociedad won 5-2 at Malaga.
Despite the suspended Vinicius Jr’s absence, Real produced the fluid attacking football that has been lacking of late with Arda Guler again orchestrating their best work.
After a stale opening, the Turkey international sparked the match into life. Sevilla appealed for a red card following an incident involving Guler and Peque Fernandez, but Guler responded minutes later by collecting Yan Diomande’s pass and arrowing a shot into the top corner.
Mbappe scored an equally impressive second in the 37th minute, turning brilliantly to burst through on goal before calmly beating Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Fede Valverde, restored to right back by coach Jose Mourinho, made a crucial block to deny Felix Correia just before the hour as Sevilla threatened to work their way back into the contest.
Diomande then exploited the space created by Sevilla’s more adventurous approach, evading his marker before sending Mbappe in behind the defence. Andres Castrin brought down the French forward, who got to his feet to convert the resulting penalty and effectively settle the contest.
Substitute Manu Bueno reduced Sevilla’s arrears with a composed finish 10 minutes from time after Mbappe cheaply surrendered possession deep inside his own half.
Diomande restored Real’s three-goal advantage two minutes later, capping a fine display with a thunderous strike.
Eder Militao received a warm ovation when he came on in the 85th minute for his first appearance since undergoing hamstring surgery in April.
Mourinho will take encouragement from one of the most complete performances of his second spell at Real as they prepare for next Sunday’s pivotal meeting with Barcelona.