Real Madrid race into three-goal lead to revive 2019 memories

Real Madrid scored three times inside the opening 30 minutes of their La Liga match against Malaga at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, taking the quickest 3-0 lead they have managed in the competition since 2019.

The three goals came in an 11-minute spell, with Jude Bellingham opening the scoring in the 19th minute.

Real Madrid doubled their advantage seven minutes later when Malaga goalkeeper Alfonso Herrero put the ball into his own net. Kylian Mbappe then completed the rapid burst of scoring by making it 3-0 in the 30th minute.

The early attacking display immediately drew comparisons with a previous Real Madrid side managed by Zinedine Zidane. According to the statistics account MisterChip on X, the sequence was the club’s fastest route to a 3-0 lead in a La Liga fixture since 9 November 2019.

“This is Real Madrid’s earliest 3-0 lead in a La Liga game since 9 November 2019 (against Eibar, with Zidane in the dugout).”

That earlier match against Eibar also saw Real Madrid establish a three-goal advantage before the current side matched the feat against Malaga. Zidane was in the dugout for the 2019 fixture, providing the specific historical link highlighted by the statistics.

The earlier season remains significant in the club’s recent history. Real Madrid went on to win the La Liga title in the 2019-20 campaign, the same season in which they recorded the previous fastest 3-0 league lead referenced by MisterChip.

Against Malaga, Bellingham supplied the first breakthrough before Herrero’s own goal increased the gap. Mbappe’s strike in the 30th minute ensured all three goals arrived within the first half-hour and completed a quick sequence that had begun with Bellingham’s finish in the 19th minute.

The scoreline at that stage represented Real Madrid’s most rapid three-goal advantage in a La Liga match for almost seven years, dating back to the Eibar game on 9 November 2019. The statistic therefore placed Sunday’s opening period alongside one of the club’s notable starts from the title-winning 2019-20 season.

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