Spanish League: Mbappe Jeered by Crowd as Real Madrid Defeat Oviedo 2-0

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Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was whistled by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in his team’s 2-0 win over Real Oviedo on Thursday in La Liga.

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The Frenchman returned from a thigh injury as a substitute for Los Blancos, who will finish a second straight season without a major trophy after Barcelona were crowned league champions last week.

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Madrid, without Mbappe, lost the Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday to confirm Hansi Flick’s side as title winners.

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Their top goalscorer Mbappe has come in for heavy criticism from the club’s fans in recent weeks for a perceived lack of commitment to the cause.

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Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring for second-place Madrid before half-time and Jude Bellingham added the second in a routine victory over relegated Oviedo at a stadium with thousands of empty seats.

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Alvaro Arbeloa, whose future as Madrid coach is poised to come to an end with Jose Mourinho linked with a return to the Bernabeu bench, began with Mbappe and England international Bellingham on the bench.

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Franco Mastantuono forced an early save from Aaron Escandell in what proved Madrid’s best opening for most of the first period.

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At the other end, Nacho Vidal smashed over after a good move from the visitors.

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Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, who was also the target of some whistles, had a shot blocked and then fired the rebound into the side-netting.

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Madrid edged ahead with a tidy finish by Garcia shortly before the interval after Brahim Diaz fired a low pass his way in the box.

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Escandell tipped over a Diaz drive and then saved from Alvaro Carreras at the near post in the second half.

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Vidal missed another fine chance for Oviedo, dragging his shot across goal and wide.

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Arbeloa sent on Mbappe, who was whistled by Madrid’s fans, particularly unhappy at his recent holiday to Sardinia while recovering from injury.

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Mbappe, who scored 41 goals in 41 games across all competitions this season before this game, tried his best to smile it off.

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Many Los Blancos players have been jeered by Madrid supporters over the years, including Mbappe’s idol Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Madrid president Florentino Perez this week called elections during a tumultuous period for the club.

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Stewards took away a banner from fans reading “Florentino go now”, with opinion split over the Madrid chief.

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Bellingham added the second for Madrid after creating some space for himself and drilling hard and low past Escandell from just inside the box.

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It settled this match but Madrid’s problems will not be solved as easily.

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Elsewhere, Girona drew 1-1 against Real Sociedad to climb up to 15th, still just one point above the relegation zone.

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Mid-table sides Valencia and Rayo Vallecano also shared a 1-1 draw but are not completely safe from the spectre of relegation.

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AFP

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