Yan Diomandé leads Real Madrid's 3-0 win at Racing Santander

Real Madrid were 3-0 up by the 36th minute at Racing Santander, and Yan Diomandé still managed to look like the main story. In a win that also featured goals from Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, Diomandé's goal and all-round display gave Madrid something more than a routine away result. They remain third in La Liga and are back within three points of Barcelona.

Diomandé takes the spotlight

The scoreline at Estadio El Sardinero was emphatic, but Diomandé was the player who gave the night its edge. He scored Madrid's third in the 36th minute after a poorly cleared corner, and his broader numbers were strong too.

He finished with an 8.13 rating, the best among Madrid's starters. He also won 7 of 13 duels and completed 3 dribbles, which fits the basic point here: he was involved, aggressive and productive, not just a passenger collecting the third goal in a game already won.

That matters for a player trying to grab space in a squad full of bigger names. Mbappé and Bellingham were on the scoresheet, but Diomandé looked like the one stretching the game and forcing Santander into rushed defending.

Madrid's early burst settled the game

The opening half hour went badly for Racing Santander vs Real Madrid because Madrid kept turning pressure into goals. Mbappé opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 11th minute, taking him to 12 La Liga goals this season. Two minutes later, Thibaut Courtois made a decisive save from Iker Luque, and that was probably Santander's best chance to disrupt the pattern of the night.

Bellingham made it 2-0 in the 21st minute. Foot Mercato's match report had the goal a minute later, but the event data and So Foot place it in the 21st, so that is the stronger reading. It was Bellingham's fourth league goal of the season and another sign that Madrid are getting scoring help from several areas, not only from Mbappé.

Diomandé's finish before half-time removed any real doubt. By then, Madrid had done the hard part with brutal efficiency.

Control, with one brief scare

A translated match summary from Foot Mercato described it this way: "Real Madrid did not tremble to tame Racing Santander (3-0), despite a second half that was less controlled." That is close to the shape of the game. Madrid had already built the margin, then managed the rest without much drama.

The late flashpoint came in the 75th minute, when a penalty decision was overturned by VAR after the ball touched Aurélien Tchouaméni's foot before his hand. Even that moment changed little about the wider result.

Madrid have now won 8 of their 10 La Liga matches, and this one felt in line with that run. The headline names scored, but Diomandé was the reason the win stood out. Madrid left El Sardinero with a 3-0 result and a young attacker who looked impossible to ignore.