Kylian Mbappe Scores Brace Against Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid Back To Winning Path

JAKARTA - Real Madrid returned to winning ways after beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the Spanish LaLiga match, Thursday, December 4, 2025 in the morning WIB. In the duel at the San Mates Stadium, forward Kylian Mbappe scored a brace that brought Madrid to overshadow Barcelona's leaders.

Madrid broke a poor record three straight draws in domestic competitions. The disappointing result since Madrid slaughtered Valencia 4-0 on November 2, 2025, made the throne previously controlled by Barca. Moreover, the Blaugrana showed consistency by beating Atletico Madrid 3-1.

After leaving Barca, Madrid are now again maintaining competition for the LaLiga title. Madrid, who are still in second place, managed to pocket point 36 or one point adrift with Barca.

It's just that the rivalry between the two Spanish League giants also involves Villarreal, who is ranked third with 32 points. However, Villarreal still has one game postponed so they have the opportunity to close the distance of points if they beat Getafe.

Meanwhile, Athletic is still stuck in the middle board. Having failed to score points in the home game, Athletic had to postpone the target of fixing the rankings. Now,tai Valverde's team is still stuck in eighth place with point 20.

The convincing victory satisfied coach Xabi Alonso who suddenly became under pressure after reaping disappointing results. He did not hesitate to appreciate the players who showed their best performance during the 90 minutes of the match.

In my opinion, the team played very well. They were able to concentrate fully for 90 minutes. This match is probably the best we've ever had. Because we face an opponent who is difficult to beat when playing at home. But we can take advantage of the momentum to win," Alonso was quoted as saying by the france24.

"After a draw against Girona [Last weekend], we knew we had momentum. Now we focus on the next match against Celta [Vigo]. The match schedule is very tight," he said again.

Despite winning, Madrid had to lose two mainstay players, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Eduardo Camavinga who were injured and were pulled out of the match. Alexander-Arnold who made LaLiga's first assist again injured and threatened with absence again.

In that match, Madrid completely dominated and forced Athletic to survive more. Just four minutes into the game, goalkeeper Unai Simon had to work hard by making a brilliant save from Mbappe's shot. He also thwarted a chance from Vinicius Junior.

But Madrid didn't take long to break the deadlock. In the seventh minute, Mbappe scored a brilliant goal that put Los Merengues 1-0 up.

The goal started from Alexander-Arnold's long pass which was successfully controlled by Mbappe. The captain of the French national team then maximized that opportunity by beating Simon.

In a position behind, Athletic tried to get up. Gorka Guruzeta got a good chance, but his efforts were thwarted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Not stopping there, Courtois again showed brilliant performance by thwarting opportunities from Nico Williams and Alex Berenguer.

Madrid rose again and pressed the home defense. Vinicius Jr. recorded two opportunities that should have increased Madrid's advantage.

Repeatedly failing, Madrid were finally able to add to the goal when Camavinga beat Simon in the 42nd minute. His header, which maximized the assist from his compatriot, Mbappe, changed the score to 2-0. Madrid's advantage lasted until the first half was over.

In the second half, Athletic tried to take the initiative to attack. They had a chance through Mikel Jauregizar. But Courtois made another brilliant save by parrying the ball.

When facing the host's bumpy attack, Madrid instead lost Alexander-Arnold who had a muscle injury. His position was later replaced by Raul Asencio.

Shortly thereafter, Madrid finally managed to add goals. Mbappe successfully scored a brace after his hard shot broke into Athletic's goal in the 59th minute.

Madrid lost another player when Camavinga suffered an injury. He is expected to miss the next match.

Alexander-Arnold and Camavinga's injury was a heavy blow for Alonso because his team would play a difficult match on a busy schedule. Madrid alone managed to maintain a 3-0 lead until the game was over.