Victory at the end of the year, a record for Kylian Mbappé – but still no rest at Real Madrid for the holidays: The troubled Spanish football record champions won 2-0 (1-0) in the league against ninth-placed Sevilla FC on Saturday evening and thus won all three competitive games in the week before Christmas. However, it was another lackluster victory that is unlikely to calm the debates surrounding coach Xabi Alonso, who is under massive pressure. Jude Bellingham gave Real the lead with a header (38′), Kylian Mbappé made the final score with a penalty kick (86′).
The French world-class striker scored his 59th competitive goal of the 2025 calendar year and equaled the club record set by Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the same number of goals in 2013. After a yellow-red card against Sevilla’s central defender Marcao (68th), Real played in the majority. In the Spanish media, Xabi Alonso and his team once again received lukewarm reviews for their performance. What this means for the future of Leverkusen’s 2024 champion coach initially remained unclear. Real’s next competitive game is on January 4th, in the league at home against Betis Sevilla.
