Match: Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid
Wednesday, 3 December 2025
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Real Madrid Silence Crisis Talk with a Stunning 3–0 Win over Athletic Bilbao — Mbappé Scores Twice to Reach 25 Goals in 20 Matches
Under pressure and surrounded by growing rumours of Xabi Alonso’s potential dismissal, Real Madrid delivered their best performance of the season with a dominant 3–0 victory away at San Mamés against Athletic Club in La Liga’s rescheduled Matchday 19 fixture.
Madrid had entered the match with just one win from their previous five games, struggling particularly against deep-lying defensive blocks. But against a high-pressing Athletic Bilbao side, the dynamics suited them perfectly.
Jude Bellingham dictated the midfield with constant movement and flawless technique, while Kylian Mbappéshowcased his unmatched scoring instincts — the pair reminding everyone why they’re considered two of the best players in the world.
⚽ Early Breakthrough — Mbappé Magic in the 7th Minute
Real Madrid struck early.
Receiving the ball centrally in the 7th minute, Mbappé dribbled past two defenders, drove to the edge of the box, and unleashed a powerful right-footed strike into the net to make it 1–0.
Madrid continued to create chance after chance through Mbappé, Bellingham, and Vinícius Jr., though Athletic also threatened on the counter.
Whenever danger appeared, Thibaut Courtois produced trademark world-class saves to keep Madrid ahead.
⚽ Second Goal — Camavinga Finishes Off a Brilliant Move (42′)
Just before halftime, Madrid doubled their lead.
A Trent Alexander-Arnold cross was nodded down by Mbappé, allowing Eduardo Camavinga to smash the ball home for 2–0.
⚽ Mbappé Again — A Lethal Curler for 3–0 (59′)
The decisive moment came early in the second half.
From the left side of the box, Mbappé struck a curling rocket into the near post — a goal of pure technique and confidence.
That finish brings Mbappé’s tally to:
- 25 goals in 20 matches this season
- 16 goals in 15 La Liga appearances
An outrageous scoring pace.
Full-Time: Real Madrid 3–0 Athletic Club
Madrid controlled the remainder of the match and closed out a comfortable 3–0 victory.
Amid crisis whispers, they responded with their sharpest, most complete display of the campaign, snapping a four-match winless run in La Liga and staying just one point behind leaders Barcelona.
A crisis? Not tonight.
Real Madrid looked every bit like title contenders again.
scorer
Athletic Bilbao 0–3 Real Madrid
scorers
7’ Kylian Mbappé (RMA)
42’ Eduardo Camavinga (RMA)
59’ Kylian Mbappé (RMA)
ESPN
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/match/_/gameId/748332?utm_source=chatgpt.com
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“Social Media Reactions”
Real Madrid Fans
CrimsonVoyager
Mbappé really is the number one guy right now. No one’s touching him.
HarborFalcon
That delivery from Trent was absolutely gorgeous.
DustlineRunner
Give him even a little space and he just destroys teams. It’s unreal.
EchoRiverside
Big shout to Camavinga for that finish!
SilverTrekker
Did Mbappé really just provide an assist with a header? Ridiculous.
NorthwatchJay
Winning aerial battles like that feels so good. Haven’t seen the team score one like that in a while.
IronMesa88
That was a perfect team move — everything clicked all at once.
VantageHollow
Loving the football tonight.
This shape probably has to stay, but that midfield four is doing insane work with basically no rotation.
Would love to see Vini defend a bit more, but since that’s not happening, Alonso just had to compromise.
SkygazerBloom
This finally looked like real Madrid again — huge saves included.
Definitely worth staying up for.
RustFeather
Trent…?
BlazeHarbor
Did he land on the opponent’s foot and twist his ankle? Looked nasty from the angle we got.
IronGlider
That guy is just an absolute monster. Different breed.
ShadowRidge
That was straight-up ridiculous. Completely unfair in the best way.
SilverHorizon
Man’s playing like he’s already holding the Ballon d’Or.
CobaltWave
Unai Simón is such a solid keeper. Against most goalies we’d have scored two more off those breakaways.
FrostlandEcho
Fantastic match and a huge win at San Mamés.
Mbappé has to be the MOTM for me.
MarinerPulse
Honestly, the team might be stronger without Güler in this setup.
EvergreenVault
What a great performance.
Hope they can carry this momentum forward.
HarborStrike
When teams press like Bilbao with zero structure, Madrid handle it with ease.
Figure out how to break down deep blocks and they can take La Liga back.
CrimsonVoyager
There were shaky moments, sure, but overall it was actually fun to watch for the first time in a while.
Would love to see more goals like that second one.
RustlineEcho
The beauty of that second goal:
Bellingham drops back a touch on the dribble, which forces Bilbao’s back line to step higher.
Camavinga reads it and starts drifting forward.
Mbappé senses the switch and times his run perfectly.
Vini casually strolling kept him unmarked.
If Trent or Fede are on the right, they need to use that kind of pattern way more often.
SilverHarbor
Because their style still isn’t settled, it’s hard to judge what’s good and what isn’t.
With a clear system you can talk about player tasks and positional roles, but today was wide open from the start — and that chaos suits Madrid perfectly.
LumenRidge
That second goal felt like something straight out of Leverkusen’s playbook.
If they can do that against teams that sit deep, they’ll be dangerous.
Everyone complains, but they’re clearly executing when it matters.
SkyTrailNova
Bellingham finally looked free again — playing with real joy.
All three goals were quality, but that second one was such a rare, satisfying pattern.
HarborNova
Since returning from injury, Trent’s long balls suddenly started landing perfectly again. Feels like he flipped a switch.
SkylineVantage
They clearly wanted to push the ball forward quicker.
Against Girona they tried the same thing but the fullbacks pushed too high and left huge gaps.
This time they corrected that, and both Mbappé and Vini were constantly calling for it.
CrimsonShoreline
The communication was on point today, and Vini didn’t switch off at all.
Sure, Bilbao’s style makes it easier, but you don’t transform like that in two days unless something serious lit a fire under them.
IronSparrow
Arnold looked great out there… shame he picked up that injury.
RustPeak
They definitely felt the pressure.
Fede’s defensive cover worked perfectly, and tactically the decisions paid off this time.
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