Racing Santander 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappé Answers on the Pitch After Missing Out on the Ballon d'Or

Kylian Mbappé found the net in his first match since missing out on the Ballon d'Or, taking centre stage in Real Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Racing Santander and scoring his 12th LaLiga goal of the season.

Having lost out on football's most prestigious individual award to Harry Kane on Monday, the French star showed no sign of disappointment with his performance at the Campos de Sport de El Sardinero.

Jude Bellingham, who scored his 50th goal in all competitions for Real Madrid, and Yan Diomande, one of the most in-form players of recent weeks, also got on the scoresheet as Los Blancos stormed through the first half to put the game beyond their hosts.

José Mourinho's side won a penalty right at the start of the match when Mbappé was brought down in the box by Matteo Prati. Mbappé stepped up in the 11th minute and beat goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala to put his side 1-0 ahead.

Madrid doubled their lead 10 minutes later. Bellingham latched onto a superb through ball from Arda Güler in behind the defence, rounded goalkeeper Agirrezabala and rolled the ball into the empty net.

With nine minutes of the first half remaining, it was Diomande's turn. When Arda Güler's corner bounced out to the edge of the box, the Ivorian unleashed a stunning strike into the roof of the net to make it 3-0.

Mbappé came close to a second goal in the 60th minute, but his shot came back off the right post. Madrid's number 10 then sent the follow-up over the bar.

Racing Santander thought they had won a penalty in the 72nd minute for a handball by Aurélien Tchouaméni, but referee José Luis Munuera Montero overturned his decision after reviewing the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor.

Although Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside after Brahim Díaz's shot deflected off a defender, Real Madrid saw out a convincing 3-0 victory.

First-half storm keeps Madrid in the title chase

Having dropped six points behind arch-rivals Barcelona after their 6-1 win over Alavés, Madrid laid the foundations for their ninth league win with a blistering first-half display.

With this match, Mbappé has now scored against all 24 opponents he has faced in LaLiga (68 goals in total). The French star's goal was his 18th penalty goal in the league.

Jude Bellingham, making his 154th appearance for Real Madrid, reached a special milestone with his 50th goal for the club.