Real Madrid 4-2 Athletic Club: Carvajal's last Bernabéu night ends with an assist and a guard of honour
The opening goal came off Carvajal's boot. In the 12th minute he slid a through ball in behind the defence, and Gonzalo García ran on to slot it past Álex Padilla. Twelve minutes was all the Bernabéu needed to get its money's worth on a night built around its captain's goodbye.
Real Madrid finished 4-2. Jude Bellingham doubled the lead on 41 minutes, controlling Thiago Pitarch's chipped through ball on his chest and hammering a left-footed half-volley high past Padilla. Kylian Mbappé made it 3-1 in the 51st minute, cutting in from the edge of the box and rolling a low shot beyond Padilla off a Carreras pass. Brahim Díaz tucked in the fourth in the 88th. Gorka Guruzeta pulled one back for Athletic in first-half stoppage time, and Urko Izeta nicked the visitors' second deep into the second half's added time.
The farewell that everyone came for
Carvajal started, as Álvaro Arbeloa had promised earlier in the week. The interim coach said he would substitute his captain at a moment that let the Bernabéu stand up for him, and that is what happened. The full guard of honour formed when he came off, both squads applauding him toward the touchline.
Arbeloa is also stepping aside this summer. José Mourinho's two-year deal to take over at Real Madrid was agreed earlier this week, with the formal announcement expected on Monday. That made this match Arbeloa's exit too, even if the night was framed around Carvajal.
Mbappé's goal and the Pichichi race
The 51st-minute goal mattered for Mbappé personally too. He went into the final matchday at the top of the Pichichi standings, and the strike added another to a lead he has held through the second half of the season. He had also won the trophy in his debut La Liga campaign a year earlier, and this one had been more of a grind, with a knee problem knocking his goals-per-game rate around earlier in the season.
A forgettable league campaign, a memorable goodbye
Around 70,000 turned up at the Bernabéu for the occasion, the bulk of them there for Carvajal rather than the league context. Barcelona had already wrapped up the La Liga title at Camp Nou earlier in the month, which left Real Madrid playing for a placeholder finish behind them and a send-off. The applause when Carvajal lifted his arm to the crowd was the loudest noise the Bernabéu has made for a domestic fixture this spring.
Carvajal leaves on a free at the end of June after 13 seasons and 27 trophies. Mourinho inherits a dressing room about to lose its longest-serving regular at right-back.
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