Real Madrid once again played a proper and correct match in the national championship right after the international break. After the good feelings of the 4-0 win over Osasuna, Carlo Ancelotti’s team scored again in the domestic championship when they beat Leganés 0-3 at the Butarque.
The white team made the most of Barcelona’s defeat at Celta de Vigo and added three important points to close the gap to the leaders by four points with the postponed match against Valencia at the Mestalla. The ‘merengue’ victory continued to improve the sentiment of the ‘merengue’ team.
In the Madrid derby, the visitors won thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé, Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham. The Frenchman, playing on the left, opened the scoring from a Vinícius pass just before the break. In the second half, the Uruguayan’s shot brought the clash into the middle and almost at the end of the match, the Englishman finished at will and completed a finish.
In addition to Kylian Mbappé playing on the left and Fede Valverde being assigned to the right-back position, the other novelty in Carlo Ancelotti’s 11-man lineup was Dani Ceballos starting in midfield.
The former Betis man enjoyed the full 90 minutes and was a key player in the central area. After going 3-0 down, the Andalusian spoke to ‘Real Madrid TV’ and analysed the important win that has seen him move four points behind Barcelona with a game in hand.
“I think we played a very complete game from start to finish. We were able to score the first goal at the end of the first half and we played well until the end. The team needs to understand each other a little better. We have very little time to train but we are becoming more solid and defending better. That can be seen in the results,” he said.
He then touched on his personal feelings in the Madrid squad: “I am very happy, I have been working for a while after my injury. Physically, I feel good. Happy with the title, with the 90 minutes and with the victory.”
On his teammate’s captaincy, he added. “I congratulate Valverde for his first game as captain, I am sure it will not be his last. He has been working in silence for many years. It doesn’t matter where he plays, in the middle, on the wing, he always gives his all, he always plays great games. He is an inspiration for us.”
Finally, he was asked about his feelings on reaching 100 league games with Real Madrid: “I am very happy to reach 100 games in La Liga, nothing more special. But now is not the time to look back, but to look forward. “Look forward. We have to win the Champions League.”