Real Madrid Beat Sevilla 4-1 

French forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid defeated Sevilla 4-1 on Sunday to move up to third in La Liga, with Arda Guler and Yan Diomande also finding the net.

Guler opened the scoring with a spectacular strike before Mbappe added two goals, including a solo effort and a chipped penalty. Diomande completed the victory with a powerful long-range finish as Jose Mourinho’s side moved above Real Betis.

Real Madrid’s win leaves them six points behind defending champions Barcelona ahead of next weekend’s Clasico at Camp Nou. Atletico Madrid remain second after Barcelona thrashed Betis on Saturday.

Speaking after the match, Mourinho praised his players’ performance and their commitment to improving as a team, noting that the squad had spent only a short time together.

He also acknowledged the pressure that comes with managing Real Madrid, saying the club’s stature left little room for the calm enjoyed by coaches elsewhere, but that his team was making the most of its available time.

“We played a great game… we are a team and we work to improve, we’ve only been together for a very short time,” Mourinho told Real Madrid TV.

“It’s hard to have the calm that other coaches enjoy at other clubs, given the scale of Real Madrid, but we’re making the most of every minute we have.”

Mourinho started Diomande on the left wing in place of the suspended Vinicius Junior and deployed Guler in a deeper midfield role.

Vinicius was sent off the previous weekend for pulling an opponent’s hair, sparking renewed criticism of Spanish refereeing among Real Madrid supporters.

Fans at the Santiago Bernabeu had also protested against La Liga president Javier Tebas after he compared the club’s efforts to undermine confidence in referees to propaganda methods associated with Nazi official Joseph Goebbels.

Real Madrid and Mourinho have repeatedly criticised Spanish officiating in recent weeks, as well as over the past two seasons, during which the club failed to win a major trophy.

However, Sevilla had the strongest complaints about refereeing decisions on Sunday, particularly an incident involving Guler and midfielder Peque in the first half.

Guler appeared to elbow Peque midway through the opening period, but the incident went unpunished.

Sevilla coach Luis Garcia Plaza argued that his team had been denied the opportunity to play against 10 men, saying the incident should have resulted in a dismissal around the 25th minute. He maintained that although Real Madrid deserved credit for their performance with 11 players on each side, the decision had prevented Sevilla from competing under different circumstances.

“There’s a match that’s 11 against 11 where they deserve to win, without any doubt, but we were denied the chance to play another match,” said upset Sevilla coach Luis Garcia Plaza.

“We were denied the chance to play a match of 11 against 10. From there on I don’t want to talk about the match anymore. We should have been playing 11 against 10 from the 25th minute.”

Garcia Plaza suggested that the decision might have been influenced by the need to keep the title race close ahead of the Clasico, while Mourinho said he had not watched replays of the incident.

Madrid had struggled to create clear openings early on, but Guler broke the deadlock after 30 minutes with a superb finish.

Jude Bellingham released the ball towards the flank, where Diomande collected it before setting up the Turkish midfielder on the edge of the box. Guler then curled an outstanding effort beyond Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and into the top corner.

Mbappe nearly doubled the lead with a rapid run through the Sevilla defence, but his low shot was saved.

The French forward eventually scored with a brilliant individual effort, receiving a backheel from Bellingham before spinning past a defender with a roulette turn, evading the goalkeeper and slotting the ball into the net. Sevilla protested that Robbie Ure had been fouled during the build-up, but the goal stood.

Mbappe added his second from the penalty spot after going down following contact from Andres Castrin inside the area. He chipped the spot-kick into the net in a Panenka-style finish, taking his league tally to nine goals this season.

Sevilla reduced the deficit through Manuel Bueno, who finished neatly, but Madrid restored their control when Diomande struck from outside the box. It was the Ivorian winger’s second goal since joining the club from RB Leipzig during the summer.

Earlier on Sunday, Real Sociedad climbed to fifth after a 5-2 victory away to bottom-placed Malaga. Celta Vigo beat Alaves 2-1, while Osasuna defeated Racing Santander 2-0.