European football: Bellingham sparks Real Madrid’s cruise to maintain perfect start
Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the La Liga season with a comfortable 4-0 home win over promoted Málaga on Sunday, moving two points clear at the top of the table. Jude Bellingham inspired the rout, scoring a superb solo goal and setting up a second via an own goal, while Kylian Mbappé also netted before substitute Arda Guler completed the scoring late on.
Madrid raced into a three-goal lead inside 30 minutes at the Bernabéu: Bellingham's 19th-minute solo effort was followed by an own goal from Málaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero and a Mbappé volley from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross. Guler added a fourth in stoppage time after coming on as a substitute, leaving Madrid on nine points from three games, ahead of Atlético Madrid and Alavés, with Barcelona fourth on six points and a game in hand. Elsewhere, Yuito Suzuki scored a hat-trick in Freiburg's 4-1 win over Werder Bremen, and Schalke's Bundesliga return ended in a 3-0 defeat to Augsburg after finishing with 10 men following a red card for Ron Schallenberg.
In short
- Real Madrid beat Málaga 4-0, leading La Liga on nine points
- Bellingham scored and set up a goal in a dominant first half
- Suzuki scored a hat-trick as Freiburg thrashed Werder Bremen 4-1
Explained simply
La Liga is Spain’s top men’s football league, where clubs play each other over the season and earn points for wins and draws. Real Madrid are one of the country’s most successful clubs, and their home ground is the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.
Jude Bellingham is an English midfielder who joined Real Madrid in 2023. Kylian Mbappé is a forward for the club, while Arda Güler is a young attacking player; Málaga are a Spanish club who had recently won promotion to La Liga.
The league table ranks teams by points, so a strong start can give a club an early lead, though many matches remain. Madrid’s main rivals include Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, and their results help shape the contest for the Spanish title.
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