BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid was jeered by its disgruntled fans before Kylián Mbappé scored to spark a 2-0 win over Levante in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Spectators at the Santiago Bernabeu whistled, booed and waved white handkerchiefs before the opening kickoff to express their anger after back-to-back losses and a sudden coaching change.
Madrid fired Xabi Alonso after last weekend’s loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final only for the team to then lose to a second-tier side in the Copa del Rey in the debut of Alonso’s replacement.
New coach Álvaro Arbelao, who was promoted from its B team, as well as his players could have ill afforded another slip against a relegation-threatened Levante in front of their home supporters.
Levante, however, generated as much in attack as Madrid did in the first half. It took a penalty converted by Mbappé in the 58th to break the deadlock after the striker was fouled by Adrián de la Fuente.
Raúl Asencio thumped in a header after a corner kick by Arda Guler to double the lead in the 65th.
“It was important to win today,” Arbeloa said. “We knew where we were coming from. We had had a difficult week that was not easy to overcome. We did so by winning in front of our fans.”
Mbappé, who had only appeared in one of Madrid’s last four games, was back in the starting 11 after having recovered from a left knee sprain.
Jude Bellingham and other regular starters were also back in the starting lineup after Arbeloa had left the England midfielder and other key players off his squad for the humbling loss at Albacete on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey.
Madrid, despite its trouble, closed to within one point of Barcelona before the leader visits Real Sociedad on Sunday.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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