Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, in front of 73,016 spectators, and moved to nine points from three games in the Champions League league phase. Bernardo Silva scored the opening goal in the 43rd minute, Arda Güler added a second in the 52nd from an assist by Kylian Mbappé, and Mbappé scored the third in the 83rd minute from an assist by Yan Diomande. Tidiam Gomis pulled one back for Leipzig in the 85th minute, and Diomande restored the three-goal lead in the 87th minute with an assist from Brahim Díaz. Real Madrid have won all three of their league-phase matches, with 10 goals scored and five conceded.
The argument that the win was deserved is based on the amount of control the home side had. Madrid had 64.4 percent of possession, 18 shots against Leipzig’s 11, and 11 on target against six, and they won seven corners against one. The first goal was scored from very close range, in the centre of the goal, and the second was also from very close range, by Güler, who was set up by Mbappé. Mbappé and Diomande each had a goal and an assist, so between them they were involved in three of the four goals. Real Madrid’s goal difference of plus five from three games, behind only PSG and Aston Villa at plus nine, shows that the result fits a pattern.
The counter-argument is that the match was goalless until the 43rd minute and still 2-0 with 38 minutes to play, and Leipzig were in the match until the final seven minutes. Leipzig’s goal came two minutes after Madrid’s third, when Gomis scored from the centre of the box after a pass from Christoph Baumgartner, and Rocco Reitz was booked for the visitors in the 70th minute. A team that finishes with 11 shots, six on target, was not passive, and the scoreline of 4-1 owes much to two goals in a period of four minutes at the end of the game. Álvaro Carreras was booked for Madrid in the 68th minute, and the side needed 83 minutes to reach three goals, so the match was closer in the middle than the final score suggests.
The result matters for both clubs. Madrid are fourth in the table on nine points, one of five clubs with a perfect record, and they have the goal difference of plus five that is shared with Liverpool. Leipzig have one win and two defeats, with three points and a goal difference of minus five, which is 30th place, and they have scored only three goals in three games while conceding eight. The German side needs results soon to improve its position. For Madrid, the contributions of players such as Güler and Diomande show that the team is not relying on a single attacker.
Real Madrid took control of a match that was tight for the first 80 minutes and finished with two goals in the last seven. Leipzig scored once and had six shots on target, but they lost for the second time in three games.
