Real Madrid were forced to come from behind in the second-half but nonetheless they secured all three points against Espanyol.

Scorers: Carvajal 58′, Rodrygo 75′, Vinicius Junior 78′, Mbappé (P) 90′ ; Courtois (OG) 54′

Despite dominating the ball throughout most of the opening 45 minutes, the Madrid forwards struggled to combine for the final pass, an issue that has plagued them all season.

It went from bad to worse after the break when Thibaut Courtois somehow allowed the ball to deflect in off his legs from an acute angle to see Espanyol go ahead, but their lead did not last long.

Only four minutes later, Dani Carvajal nabbed one for the hosts to level the score. Los Blancos would not stop there however, and this time the forwards finally managed to get on the scoresheet when Rodrygo put Madrid ahead in the final 15 minutes just a few minutes before Vinicius Junior came off the bench to bag the third of the night.

To nobody’s surprise, Kylian Mbappé got in on the action in the dying minutes with a strike from the penalty spot.

While there was a minor scare, the win sees Real Madrid move to within one point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.