Kylian Mbappe scored a second-half penalty as crisis-hit Real Madrid registered a 2-0 LaLiga victory over relegation-threatened Levante inside a furious Bernabeu.
Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm in the aftermath of Real’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Barcelona, urged the club’s fans to be “by our side” prior to Saturday’s fixture.
However, only days after they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by second-tier Albacete, Real received a hostile reception from their own supporters.
Mbappe spared the home side’s blushes by winning and converting a spot-kick in the 58th minute before Raul Asencio doubled the lead to leave Real a point behind leaders Barca, who travel to Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Elsewhere in Spain, Vedat Muriqi’s hat-trick earned Mallorca a 3-2 win over nine-man Athletic Bilbao, Osasuna beat bottom side Real Oviedo by the same scoreline and third-placed Villarreal lost 2-0 at Real Betis.
In the Bundesliga, Harry Kane scored his 32nd goal of the season as leaders Bayern Munich came from behind to thump RB Leipzig 5-1.
Vincent Kompany’s defending champions looked in danger of slipping to a first league defeat of the season when Romulo Cardoso fired the hosts into a deserved first-half lead.
But Serge Gnabry levelled and England captain Kane ruthlessly buried his only chance of the match before Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olise completed the scoring to ensure Bayern restored their 11-point lead at the top.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund briefly cut the gap earlier on Saturday after scraping a 3-2 win at home to bottom club St Pauli thanks to Emre Can’s added-time penalty.
Goals from Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi put Dortmund in control before the visitors levelled through James Sands and former Peterborough forward Ricky-Jade Jones.
Third-placed Hoffenheim beat 2024 champions Bayer Leverkusen 1-0, while Cologne defeated Mainz 2-1, Wolfsburg drew 1-1 with Heidenheim, and Hamburg versus Borussia Monchengladbach finished goalless.
Inter Milan moved six points clear at the top of Serie A after Lautaro Martinez’s first-half strike secured a 1-0 victory at Udinese.
Third-placed Napoli kickstarted their faltering title defence by beating Sassuolo by the same scoreline after Stanislav Lobotka’s seventh-minute goal ended a run of three successive draws.
Juventus’ six-match unbeaten run was ended by a 1-0 loss at Caligari. Luca Mazzitelli scored the hosts’ 65th-minute winner.
In France, Lens leapfrogged Paris St German at the top of Ligue 1 after Wesley Said scored for the sixth time in eight games to earn a 1-0 victory over struggling Auxerre.
Mason Greenwood – the division’s top scorer – hit his 12th goal of the season as third-placed Marseille won 5-2 at Angers. Toulouse thrashed Nice 5-1.
