REAL MADRID BEAT BARCELONA TO CUT LEAGUE GAP

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou on Sunday, ending the league leaders’ unbeaten start to the La Liga season. Kylian Mbappe scored both goals for Jose Mourinho’s side. Raphinha equalised for Barcelona after Mbappe had opened the scoring before half-time. The win cut Barcelona’s lead over Real Madrid to three points. Real Madrid remained third, behind Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Yan Diomande crossed from the left in the 41st minute, and Gerard Martin’s clearance struck Mbappe before the ball went into the net. Lamine Yamal missed a chance to equalise from close range before the break. Pedri set up Raphinha’s 61st-minute goal with a reverse pass into the penalty area. With three minutes remaining, Barcelona substitute Gabriel Jesus lost control of the ball and Real Madrid counter-attacked. Eduardo Camavinga ran behind the defence and passed to Mbappe, who scored into an empty net.

Barcelona had won their first nine league matches and had lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday. Real Madrid recorded their fifth consecutive win across all competitions without the suspended Vinicius Junior. Barcelona had 27 points from 10 league matches, one more than Atletico Madrid. Mbappe’s opening goal was his 11th in 10 La Liga appearances this season. “In general, we didn’t have a great game. In the first half, we weren’t ourselves; there were a lot of things we could have done better,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri said.