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PIX: Mbappe wins it for Real Madrid; Milan rally to beat Como

March 16, 2025 04:41 IST

A summary of Saturday's action in the LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring Real Madrid's second goal with Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham during the LaLiga match against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal, on Saturday.

IMAGE: Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring Real Madrid's second goal with Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham during the LaLiga match against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal, on Saturday. Photograph: Pablo Morano/Reuters

Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help Real Madrid fight back to beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday and move provisionally top of the standings.

The hosts opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Alex Baena's corner was deflected by Aurelien Tchouameni, allowing Juan Foyth to score from close range.

Real Madrid levelled 10 minutes later when Mbappe pounced on Brahim Diaz's blocked shot and the ball landed at his feet for a close-range finish.

 

Kylian Mbappe is challenged by Villarreal's Pape Gueye and Santi Comesana as he prepares to strike at goal.

IMAGE: Kylian Mbappe is challenged by Villarreal's Pape Gueye and Santi Comesana as he prepares to strike at goal. Photograph: Pablo Morano/Reuters

Six minutes later, the French international scored his 20th league goal of the season, latching on to Lucas Vazquez's through ball and slotting home.

Mbappe had a chance to complete his hat-trick in the second half when he latched onto Vinicius Jr's through ball, but the offside flag was raised.

"It's the last time we'll play a game with less than 72 hours' rest," said coach Carlo Ancelotti, referring to Wednesday's gruelling Champions League shootout win over city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Real top the table on 60 points, three clear of second-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand after their match with Osasuna was postponed last week, and face third-placed Atletico on Sunday.

Milan fight back to beat Como as Alli sent off on comeback

Christian Pulisic scores AC Milan's opening goal in the Serie A match against Como at San Siro, Milan.

IMAGE: Christian Pulisic (in red and black) scores AC Milan's opening goal in the Serie A match against Como at San Siro, Milan. Photograph: Claudia Greco/Reuters

Second-half goals by Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders gave AC Milan a thrilling 2-1 comeback home win over Como in Serie A, with Dele Alli sent off for the visitors minutes into his first match in two years.

Milan are in seventh place with 47 points, five points behind Juventus in fourth, the final Champions League spot, with Juve playing at Fiorentina on Sunday. Como are 13th with 29 points.

The match saw former England international Alli make his first competitive appearance since February 2023, but it lasted mere minutes as he was sent off in stoppage time for stamping on Milan's Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Milan started brightly, with Yunus Musah rounding Como goalkeeper Jean Butez after five minutes, but the angle became too tight, and his effort drifted just wide of the far post.

Tijjani Reijnders (No. 14) celebrates scoring AC Milan's second goal with teammates.

IMAGE: Tijjani Reijnders (No. 14) celebrates scoring AC Milan's second goal with teammates. Photograph: Claudia Greco/Reuters

Lucas Da Cunha stunned the San Siro into silence after 33 minutes, guiding a precise left-footed strike from the edge of the area into the bottom corner to put the visitors in front.

Como nearly doubled their lead just before the break when Marc-Oliver Kempf had a clear chance, but Milan keeper Mike Maignan produced a superb point-blank save to deny him.

Da Cunha believed he had scored his second six minutes into the second half, only for it to be disallowed by VAR and from then on, it was all Milan.

Two minutes later, Pulisic levelled for the hosts, striking a half-volley from a tight angle that went in just inside the far post.

Reijnders completed the turnaround with a close-range goal in the 75th minute, much to the relief of the home fans and manager Sergio Conceicao.

Como's misery was compounded when Alli received a straight red card in stoppage time, minutes after coming on.

The former England international had not played a competitive match since featuring for Turkish side Besiktas in February 2023, and has struggled with injuries and fitness since.

He signed for Como in January, hoping to reignite his career, but spent only 10 minutes on the field before receiving the red card.

Top-four chasing RB Leipzig beat Dortmund

Lois Openda celebrates scoring RB Leipzig's second goal during the Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig.

IMAGE: Lois Openda celebrates scoring RB Leipzig's second goal during the Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

Xavi Simons and Lois Openda were on target as RB Leipzig snapped their four-match winless streak in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 home victory over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, boosting their hopes of finishing in the top four.

The win moved Leipzig up to fifth in the table on 42 points after 26 games, level with fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who travel to VfL Bochum on Sunday. The top four teams in Germany qualify for the Champions League.

Leipzig shot out of the blocks and had a number of chances early on, with Openda rattling the crossbar from close range, while Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel did well to keep out shots from Simons and David Raum.

Dortmund did not heed the many warnings they were given, and Simons opened the hosts' account in the 18th minute, lashing home a rebound after Kobel had once again denied left back Raum.

Karim Adeyemi nearly equalised for Dortmund on the stroke of halftime when he latched onto a long ball over the top and sent a low shot towards the bottom corner, but Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi made an excellent sprawling save.

Leipzig doubled their lead after the interval through Openda, who was left unmarked at the far post from a corner and showed excellent technique to volley Simons' delivery into the net in the 48th minute.

Dortmund responded well to the second goal and did their best to fight their way back into the contest, but were thwarted time and again by Gulacsi, who made several fine saves.

The best of those came in the 63rd minute after Adeyemi had played Serhou Guirassy through on goal, with Gulacsi racing off his line to deny the Guinea international a 15th league goal of the season.

Dortmund, who have had a dreadful league campaign so far, dropped into 11th place after their 11th league defeat of the season.

The defeat was a harsh return to reality for Niko Kovac's team, who on Wednesday earned a Champions League quarter-final spot with a 2-1 win at Lille for a 3-2 aggregate victory.

To make matters worse, Dortmund also lost midfielder Marcel Sabitzer early in the second half, with the Austria international limping off the pitch with an apparent knee injury.

Source: REUTERS
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