The match took place against a backdrop of off-field scrutiny for the striker, who had recently issued an apology following a public backlash regarding a video featuring comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The controversy led to Chinese state television opting not to broadcast the weekend's Spanish fixtures. Despite the external noise, Mbappe remained focused, winning the spot-kick himself after drawing contact from Matteo Prati before calmly dispatching the penalty.
Madrid maintain momentum in title race
Real Madrid’s victory keeps them firmly in the hunt for the top spot, sitting three points behind leaders Barcelona, who had defeated Alaves 6-1 a day earlier. Jose Mourinho’s squad currently holds third place, trailing second-placed Atletico Madrid by a single point. Following Mbappe’s opener, the visitors doubled their lead when Arda Guler provided an incisive pass for
The scoring was completed by Yan Diomande, who struck a clinical effort from the edge of the penalty area. While Racing Santander attempted to mount a response early in the second half—drawing visible frustration from Mourinho on the touchline—the visitors regained their composure. Mbappe came close to adding to his tally when he struck the post, and Bellingham saw a late stoppage-time effort disallowed for offside. Racing, currently 16th in the table, were handed a potential lifeline via a penalty for an Aurelien Tchouameni handball, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.
Elsewhere in La Liga
The weekend’s action saw significant results across the division, including a 3-1 win for Getafe over Sevilla and a vital 1-0 victory for Valencia against Elche, courtesy of a goal from Umar Sadiq. In the Basque derby, Athletic Bilbao edged out Real Sociedad 2-1. Inaki Williams opened the scoring with a lob, and although Luka Sucic levelled for Sociedad, Alex Berenguer secured the points from a controversial penalty awarded for a challenge on Nico Williams. Goalkeeper Unai Simon proved instrumental for Bilbao, making a series of saves to preserve the result.
