European football: Bellingham sparks Real Madrid’s cruise to maintain perfect start | European club football

Real Madrid maintained their perfect start to the season in La Liga with a comfortable 4-0 home ⁠win over promoted Málaga on Sunday, scoring three times inside 30 minutes before adding a late fourth.

Jude Bellingham’s brilliant solo opener, an own ⁠goal by the Málaga goalkeeper ⁠Alfonso Herrero and ​a sharp Kylian Mbappé volley effectively settled the contest before half-time, with substitute Arda Guler wrapping up the victory in added time at ⁠the Bernabéu.

The win lifted Madrid to nine points from three matches, two clear of Atlético Madrid and Alavés. Barcelona, fourth on six points with a ⁠game in hand, host Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Bellingham opened the scoring in the 19th minute ‌with a superb burst through the middle, collecting a loose ball near the edge of the area, gliding past three defenders and firing low beneath Herrero. They ​doubled their lead seven minutes later after Herrero could only palm out Mbappé’s effort. Bellingham headed the rebound back towards goal and, as Herrero and a teammate collided while trying to clear, the ball ended up in the net.

Mbappé then made it 3-0 in the 30th minute, meeting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross ⁠with a fine volley from the centre of the box. The second half drifted until Guler, shortly ​after coming on, started ‌and finished a ​slick move, feeding Vinícius Júnior before tapping in the Brazilian’s return pass to complete the rout.

Napoli suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Como ⁠in Serie A, with all three goals coming in an entertaining opening half.

Tasos Douvikas scores Como’s second goal against Napoli. Photograph: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Assane Diao looked the most threatening player in the opening stages ⁠and the winger was instrumental in the visitors’ 17th-minute opening goal. Diao went past ​Mathías Olivera on the right wing ‌and played a pass ‌across to Martin Baturina whose shot on the turn from close to the penalty ‌spot found the bottom corner of the net.

Noa Lang missed an excellent chance to equalise, sending a header over from inside the six-yard box, before Napoli drew level on the half-hour mark. Rasmus Højlund collected a pass on the edge of the area, rolled the ball away from the defender Jacobo Ramón to make ‌room for the shot which he drilled low into the far corner, but Como were back in front four minutes later when Napoli ​were caught napping at the back.

André-Frank Zambo Anguissa underhit a pass back to Amir Rrahmani in his own box, allowing Baturina to nick the ball away. It fell to Tasos Douvikas and Como’s top scorer last season netted his second goal of this ⁠campaign.

Yuito Suzuki scored a hat-trick as Freiburg thumped Werder Bremen 4-1, while Schalke’s nightmare return to ⁠the Bundesliga ended in a 3-0 away defeat to Augsburg as they finished with 10 men.

Yuito Suzuki opens the scoring for Freiburg against Werder Bremen. Photograph: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images

Schalke spent the last ⁠three seasons in ⁠the second tier ​and would have hoped for a positive result on their return, but were well beaten in a lively contest in which ⁠both sides created plenty of chances. Augsburg took the lead in the 18th minute as Michael Gregoritsch scored at the back post, the goal ⁠coming against the run of play.

The visitors’ task got harder when Ron Schallenberg received a ​straight red card in the 62nd minute ‌for a dangerous tackle ‌on Gregoritsch. The hosts doubled their advantage as Anton Kade provided a neat finish off ‌the post on 79 minutes, before Rodrigo Ribeiro scored the third in added time.

Suzuki was in superb form as Freiburg completed a rout of Werder Bremen to get their season off to the perfect start. He had never scored more than once in a Bundesliga game before but celebrated a hat-trick with some neat finishes.

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Later on Sunday, Inter visit Cagliari in Serie A.

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