Mbappe Shines as Real Madrid Edge Past Resilient Leganes in a 3-2 Thriller

Leganes unexpectedly stood up to Real Madrid, but the “Royals” managed to secure a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the 29th round of La Liga. The hero of “Los Blancos” was Kylian Mbappe, who bagged a brace to seal the win.

Real entered the match with a fairly experimental lineup, as Carlo Ancelotti opted to bench Vinicius and Rodrygo. Instead, Kylian Mbappe, Arda Guler, and Brahim Diaz led the attack.

In the 10th minute, Leganes nearly took a sensational lead when Yvan Neyou fired a shot just over the goal guarded by Andriy Lunin. In response, Luka Modrić tested Marko Dmitrovic, but the Serbian goalkeeper denied the Croatian maestro.

During the first half, Real played too slowly and predictably. While they dominated possession, the fans at the Santiago Bernabéu were left waiting for more attacking spark.

Finally, in the 32nd minute, Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot. However, Real’s joy was short-lived as Diego Garcia equalized almost immediately.

The setback should have ignited a stronger response from the Spanish champions, but instead, Leganes took the lead in the 41st minute. Dani Raba found the net, leaving Lunin helpless and sending Real into halftime trailing 1-2.

Real came out stronger in the second half, and Jude Bellingham restored parity just two minutes after the restart, making it 2-2.

Brahim Diaz came close to putting the hosts ahead, but his effort struck the post. In the 62nd minute, Ancelotti turned to his bench, introducing Rodrygo and Vinicius to add more attacking firepower. The decision paid off in the 76th minute when Mbappe completed his brace, curling in a superb free-kick to make it 3-2.

In stoppage time, Leganes appealed for a penalty after a clash between Marco Asensio and Ousmane Diomande, but the referee ruled that the Spaniard had not committed a foul.

With this victory, Real Madrid drew level on points with league leaders Barcelona. In this round, “Blaugrana” will face Girona in a crucial matchup. Meanwhile, “Los Blancos” now shift their focus to Tuesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Real Sociedad, where they hold a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.