Real Madrid wrapped up their third La Liga fixture with a 4-0 win over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon. The home side made light work of the visitors, scoring through Jude Bellingham, an own goal, Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler. The result leaves Real top of the table with nine points from three matches, while Málaga remain rooted to 18th place with just one point.
Early strike set the tone
Bellingham opened the scoring in the 19th minute, giving Madrid an early edge. To be fair, Málaga tried to respond but found themselves trailing again just seven minutes later when Ángel Herrero turned his own net. The visitors never quite recovered their shape after that, and Mbappé doubled the lead in the 30th minute before the break.
Real kept pressing after the interval, pulling substitutions to freshen the attack. Rodrygo came off for Raúlm Rodríguez in the 46th minute, while Javier Muñoz and Carlos Puga were paired on at the hour mark. Bellingham himself was withdrawn late on, replaced by Iñaki Merino in the 87th minute alongside Federico Valverde's replacement.
Málaga's defensive resiliency eventually cracked under sustained pressure. Güler ended a quiet evening for the home support with a goal in the 91st minute, and Chupe picked up a yellow card in the 66th minute as the visitors' frustration mounted. Enriquez also went to the referee's book on the final whistle.
The statistics tell the story of a one-sided affair. Real enjoyed 57 per cent possession and registered seven shots on target compared to Málaga's single attempt on goal. The hosts completed 546 passes against 392 for the visitors, and their shots accuracy of 41 per cent dwarfed Málaga's 8 per cent. Real produced 13 shots inside the penalty area alone, while Málaga managed just five.
This result extends Real's winning start to the campaign, having previously beaten Real Sociedad 4-1 and Espanyol 2-1. Málaga's form has been far less convincing, with a 1-1 draw against Deportivo La Coruña bookended by defeats to Atlético Madrid and an away loss to Fulham. The gap between the two sides in the table is now eight points, and Real look poised to build on their momentum.
