This weekend marked another exciting round of matches in the 2024-25 edition of La Liga, featuring an important encounter between Leganes and Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque on Sunday.
Leganes sat in 14th place in the La Liga standings and had struggled this season. However, they recently secured a win against Sevilla, which certainly was a morale booster ahead of their clash with Real Madrid.
In contrast, Real Madrid held a strong position in second place in the league table and had been fairly impressive throughout the year. They dominated Osasuna with an emphatic 4-0 win in their last match, and they are determined to close the gap between themselves and Barcelona.
Defending champions Real Madrid kicked off the match with great intensity, dominating possession and restricting their opponents to only a few quick counter-attacking chances. Freddie Valverde captained the team for the first time in his career.
Mbappe scored after a long time
The Galácticos’ new signing, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Júnior appeared to have a better rapport than in earlier fixtures, suggesting an enhanced chemistry between them.
In the 42nd minute, the Leganés defenders made a series of blunders near their penalty area. Unable to cope with the intense pressure from Real Madrid's players, they lost possession and conceded a simple goal. Kylian Mbappé struck a right-footed shot from close range into the centre of the net, thanks to an assist from Vinícius Júnior.
🚨🚨| GOAL: MBAPPÉ OPENS THE SCORING FOR REAL MADRID!!
— CentreMadrid. (@centreofmadrid) November 24, 2024
Leganes 0-1 Real Madrid
pic.twitter.com/kxNDDg5ZZ6
Valverde scored a screamer
In the second half, the conditions remained largely unchanged, with Leganes successfully fending off relentless waves of attacks from Madrid by organizing themselves in low blocks.
In the 64th minute, Vinicius Junior earned a free kick just at the edge of the Leganes box. The very next minute, Madrid's captain, Federico Valverde, delivered a thunderous right-footed shot from outside the box, finding the bottom left corner, thanks to a precise setup by Arda Güler following a well-executed set piece.
FEDE VALVERDE WHAT A GOAL! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/h98hvIqtMn
— TC (@totalcristiano) November 24, 2024
Jude joined the party with a header
In the 84th minute, Jude Bellingham joined the list of scorers with a thunderous header.
Jude Bellingham gets a well deserved goal pic.twitter.com/iuEnjdcSau
— WolfRMFC (@WolfRMFC) November 24, 2024
Leganes were unable to threaten Madrid's goal even once, as all of their three shots, which they tried during the entirety of the match, sailed past the goalposts.
Madrid defeated Leganes 3-0 and inched closer to the table toppers Barcelona with only a difference of 4 points between the arch-rivals.