Girona 0-3 Real Madrid: Bellingham stars as Los Blancos cruise to victory at Girona

Real Madrid recovered from their midweek defeat and successfully avoided consecutive losses in La Liga for the first time since April 2023, securing a 3-0 victory against Girona, thereby ending the hosts' streak of three consecutive wins at Estadi Montilivi.

Having suffered defeats in their last two away matches across all competitions, Real Madrid initially displayed little improvement in their away form, with Antonio Rudiger's 30-yard attempt sailing over the goal being their only shot in the first 15 minutes. Despite some promising build-up play, Girona failed to capitalize on their opportunities to challenge Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper was nearly tested around the half-hour mark when Yaser Asprilla delivered a well-placed pass to Donny van de Beek, whose powerful shot narrowly missed the target, going just over the bar.

This near miss invigorated Los Blancos, and after a powerful strike from Brahim Diaz from 20 yards forced an impressive save from Paulo Gazzaniga, the visitors took the lead with ten minutes remaining in the first half.

An errant clearance from Arnau Martinez was seized upon by Jude Bellingham, who struck the ball through a crowd and past Gazzaniga for his fifth goal of the season.

With their dominance established, Carlo Ancelotti’s team sought to extend their lead early in the second half. They nearly did so seven minutes in, but Gazzaniga made a remarkable save to deny Aurelien Tchouameni’s header from a Luka Modric free-kick.

However, the European champions did not have to wait long for their next goal. Just three minutes later, Bellingham's pass from the halfway line set Arda Guler through on goal, and the young Turkish player skillfully held off a defender to score his first goal of the season.

The Blanquivermells had previously netted four goals in each of their last two home matches, and they needed to replicate that performance shortly after the hour mark to keep their winning streak alive. Modric found Kylian Mbappe in the box, and from a tight angle, the Frenchman struck the ball past Gazzaniga.

Míchel's team only managed to threaten a comeback through a few attempts on goal from Asprilla and Arnaut Danjuma, resulting in an extended winless streak of four matches. On the other hand, this victory propels Real to within two points of Barcelona, with a match still to be played. However, the injuries sustained by Bellingham and Ferland Mendy raise some concerns.

SportsLigue