MADRID, August 31 — Real Madrid made it three consecutive LaLiga victories with a 4–0 win over Málaga at the Bernabéu on Sunday. Three goals between the 19th and 30th minutes established a commanding lead before Arda Güler added the fourth in second-half stoppage time.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, an Alfonso Herrero own goal doubled the advantage and Kylian Mbappé made it 3–0. The official scoring record credits Bellingham with one goal, not two.
Eleven minutes that shaped the match
Bellingham’s opener came after he won possession in the attacking half and drove through the defence. Seven minutes later, another sequence involving him ended with the ball in Málaga’s net, but the decisive deflection was off goalkeeper Herrero after a goal-line clearance.
Mbappé finished a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross in the 30th minute. It was his fourth goal of the season, and Madrid reached the interval with a three-goal cushion.
The lead did not mean Málaga created nothing. Rafa Rodríguez struck the post before the break, while Bellingham also hit the woodwork in the second half.
The late decisions and fourth goal
A penalty initially awarded to Málaga was overturned after a VAR review. The match-specific record lists the reversal late in the second half; it did not produce a converted penalty or change the score.
Güler, who replaced Bellingham in the 87th minute, finished a counterattack from Vinícius Júnior’s pass in the first minute of added time. His contribution completed the scoreline after Madrid’s early burst had done most of the competitive work.
A useful distinction in the goal tally
Bellingham was central to two first-half scoring moves, but involvement in the build-up is not the same as being the registered scorer. Herrero’s own goal remains part of the 4–0 result, alongside the goals by Bellingham, Mbappé and Güler.
For Madrid, the principal outcome is straightforward: another league victory and a clean sheet. The concentration of goals before half-time allowed them to manage a substantial lead; the later VAR reversal and stoppage-time finish completed a match whose direction had already been set.
Archive photograph: Jude Bellingham at the Laureus World Sports Awards on 22 April 2024. This is not the Málaga match. Photo: Barcex, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
