European football: Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham on target as Real cruise

European football: Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham on target as Real cruise

Kylian Mbappé ended his goal drought with a thunderous strike and England’s Jude Bellingham scored a header as Real Madrid thrashed Leganés 3-0 in La Liga on Sunday.

Leganés’ defence kept Real at bay in the first half but the visitors took the lead three minutes before the break when Vinícius Jr combined with Mbappé, who netted his seventh league goal this season. Real enjoyed most of the possession in the second half and the Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde scored from a free-kick after Bellingham had been fouled at the 66th minute.

The England international secured the victory with a header five minutes from time. 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.

In Serie A, Napoli edged out Roma 1-0 at home, with Romelu Lukaku’s second-half goal securing all three points and top spot in the table.

It took 54 minutes for Napoli to break the deadlock, with Lukaku sliding in to meet Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s low cross from close range and score against the team he played for last season.

Napoli’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring the winner against his old club Roma. Photograph: Cesare Purini/Insidefoto/Shutterstock

Napoli have 29 points after 13 matches, one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter Milan, and Fiorentina, who occupy second, third, and fourth respectively.

“When we arrive at the stadium, we can feel the way the fans push us on. We won today and we are happy,” Lukaku told Sky Sport Italia. “I just want to do well for the team. We have a process that we need to go through, we knew it would be tough because the other sides won, but we got the result we wanted.”

Napoli had an early chance to take the lead, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia failed to convert, sending a free header wide after being left unmarked at the back post. The Roma goalkeeper, Mile Svilar, was kept busy, making several crucial saves, including a strong stop from Scott McTominay’s angled attempt.

Roma woke up after Lukaku’s goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free kick minutes later, but they couldn’t find an equaliser. Napoli could have added another goal in the final seconds of the match when David Neres sent a curling shot from the edge of the box just wide.

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Fiorentina extended their winning streak to seven Serie A matches earlier on Sunday, a feat they hadn’t achieved since April 1960, with a 2-0 victory at Como, courtesy of goals from Yacine Adli and Moise Kean. David De Gea played a crucial role for Fiorentina, making an incredible triple save to deny the hosts around the hour mark.

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