Real Madrid beat Espanyol to go 5 clear of Barcelona

Real Madrid scored two brilliant goals to beat an in-form Espanyol side to maintain their flawless record this season and go five points clear of the champions, Barcelona.

Eder Militao opened the scoring with a thunderous effort in the 22nd minute, bypassing the steely Espanyol defence. Kylian Mbappe got the second after the break to double Los Blancos's lead and extend his lead for the Pichichi.

Real Madrid had a slow but controlled start to the game. After a quiet opening, the breakthrough came in spectacular fashion from an unlikely source, Eder Militao, whose thunderbolt from distance jolted the Santiago Bernabeu and sent Los Blancos up 1-0.  

Espanyol, though disciplined, rarely threatened. Their attempts at counters were swiftly snuffed out before arriving at the halfway line, lacking the required pace or poise to break through the Real Madrid press. 

Xabi Alonso’s side did not create a truckload before half-time either, prioritising control. Two minutes after the restart, Real struck again, this time through Mbappe. A precise curled effort by the Frenchman into the near post doubled the lead. Space opened up for Madrid early in the half, and Mbappé seized the moment, assisted by Vinicius. 

Espanyol’s manager, Manolo Gonzalez responded with triple substitutions, hoping to change the game, but Real held firm. Madrid came close to a third when that same move involving Mbappé spilled to Vinícius Júnior, whose shot from a narrow angle smashed off the post.

As the minutes ticked by, Real Madrid's momentum shifted back to a controlling state. Espanyol threatened a late consolation, but Los Blancos held on to their first clean sheet after three games