García on the brink of half-time and Bellingham off the bench as a whistled Mbappé helps Real Madrid past Oviedo 2-0
Real Madrid did what they had to do against an already-relegated Real Oviedo on Thursday, but a 2-0 win at the Bernabéu was overshadowed by the loud whistles the home support reserved for one of their own. Kylian Mbappé came off the bench in the 69th minute, was jeered by sections of the stadium every time he touched the ball, and still set up the second goal for Jude Bellingham. Gonzalo García had already opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time.
For a Madrid side playing only for second place in a title race Barcelona settled four days ago, the night was supposed to be a low-stakes warm-up. Instead, it became another chapter in a Mbappé saga that the Bernabéu has not let go of. Álvaro Arbeloa's side moved to 80 points with two matchdays still to play.
García breaks the deadlock right before the interval
The first 43 minutes were grim watching for the home crowd. Oviedo, who had their relegation mathematically confirmed by results elsewhere on Monday, sat deep and forced Madrid into a series of dead ends in the final third. Then the move came. Brahim Díaz collected a loose ball on the edge of the box, slipped Gonzalo García in behind, and the young forward drilled a low finish into the bottom corner from close range for the breakthrough on the 44th minute.
It was García's reward for a tireless first-half shift and a goal that bought Arbeloa some breathing room going into the dressing room. Madrid had not been brilliant. But they were ahead.
Whistles for Mbappé in the 69th
Arbeloa made changes around the hour. Daniel Carvajal and Bellingham came on together in the 64th, and Mbappé replaced the goalscorer García five minutes later. The reception was the story of the night. A clear majority of the Bernabéu jeered as the Frenchman stepped onto the grass, and the whistles continued every time he received possession.
The crowd's frustration has been building for weeks. A holiday trip to Italy during a period in which he was supposed to be recovering from a hamstring injury, and a late withdrawal from the Clásico that handed Barcelona the title, have curdled what was a love story this time last year. The whistles were not a one-off; they were the formalisation of a fan-base that has decided.
Bellingham ends his La Liga drought from a Mbappé pass
To his credit, Mbappé responded with a piece of involvement that mattered. In the 80th minute, he carried the ball into the channel, lifted his head, and slid a pass into Bellingham's run. The Englishman, who had not scored a La Liga goal in some weeks, opened up his body and finished low into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
It was the kind of cameo a player wants from a substitute appearance, even one with the soundtrack he was given. Whether it changes anything about the next ten days at the Bernabéu is another matter.
Second place secured, two matchdays to go
The win lifts Madrid to 80 points and keeps their cushion in second place behind champions Barcelona, the version of runner-up that books a Champions League seeding and the Supercopa berth. They have two games left to close out a season that turned at the Clásico last Sunday. For Oviedo, the trip back north begins the work of a parachute payment and a Segunda squad, after a fairytale 24-years-in-the-waiting top-flight return ended in immediate relegation.
Related Tags:
Cricket Updates
