Bellingham Leads Real Madrid Past Málaga in 4-0 Win

Real Madrid maintained their perfect opening to the La Liga season with a 4-0 home victory over promoted Málaga on Sunday. Reuters reported that Madrid scored three times in the opening half-hour at the Bernabéu before substitute Arda Guler added the final goal in second-half stoppage time.

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Jude Bellingham put the hosts ahead in the 19th minute. After collecting a loose ball near the edge of the penalty area, the midfielder drove through the middle, moved beyond three defenders and sent a low finish beneath Málaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero. The solo effort gave Madrid the breakthrough before the match reached its midpoint in the first half.

Madrid doubled their advantage seven minutes later in an untidy sequence around the Málaga goal. Herrero pushed away an effort from Kylian Mbappé, and Bellingham headed the rebound back toward the net. As Herrero and a teammate attempted to clear the danger, they collided and the ball went in for an own goal.

Mbappé made the score 3-0 in the 30th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a cross into the centre of the box, where the France forward met it with a volley. That strike completed Madrid’s three-goal burst in an 11-minute span and left the promoted visitors facing a large deficit before halftime.

The score remained unchanged through most of the second half before Guler completed the victory after coming off the bench. The substitute began the move by feeding Vinícius Júnior, continued his run into position and converted the Brazilian’s return pass in added time. It was Madrid’s only goal after the interval.

The victory moved Real Madrid to nine points from three league matches. At the time of the report, that placed Madrid two points ahead of Atlético Madrid and Alavés, giving the Bernabéu side the maximum available return from the opening three rounds.

Barcelona were fourth on six points with one match in hand and were scheduled to host Rayo Vallecano on Monday. For Málaga, their visit to Madrid ended in a four-goal defeat after Bellingham’s opener, the Herrero own goal, Mbappé’s volley and Guler’s late finish decided the contest.