Kylian Mbappe Scored Twice as Real Madrid Beat Rayo Vallecano Four One to Go Level With Barcelona
A penalty in the fourteenth minute and a stoppage time second gave Mbappe a double at the Bernabeu, where 71,898 watched Jose Mourinho's side end a slump.
Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on 12 September 2026 to move level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 14th minute. Alvaro Carreras made it two in the 17th and Jude Bellingham added a third in the 35th for a 3-0 half-time lead. Sergio Camello pulled one back for Rayo in the 51st minute before Mbappe scored again in the first minute of stoppage time. The attendance was 71,898 and the referee was Victor Garcia Verdura.
The win followed a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis on 4 September, the first league loss under Jose Mourinho, who was appointed in June 2026 after Alvaro Arbeloa left by mutual consent. Madrid had beaten Inter Milan 2-1 in their Champions League opener on 8 September. Rayo are coached by Benat San Jose, appointed on 18 June 2026.
Mourinho said it had been fundamental to win after losing the previous league match and that his side killed the game in the first half. A day later Valencia, bottom of the table and still without a win, dismissed head coach Carlos Corberan and football chief executive Ron Gourlay.