Mbappe and Bellingham score as Real Madrid down Athletic Club to end disappointing campaign

[p]After a turbulent final month of the campaign, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real[/a] looked determined to end the season on a positive note at the Bernabeu, as the club prepared to bid farewell to legendary right-back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/carvajal-daniel/rZh5FTHE/"]Carvajal[/a].[/p][p]The Spaniard, making his 451st and final appearance for Los Blancos, rolled back the years in the opening quarter-hour, [b]curling a sublime pass into the path of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garcia-gonzalo/pWxyEyDA/"]Gonzalo Garcia[/a], who took one touch to compose himself before finishing confidently beyond [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/padilla-alex/4d3bB6Wo/"]Alex Padilla[/a].[/b][/p][embed guid="2bf3ca72-92e0-46a2-bf68-dad2b75b57e2" url="https://x.com/realmadriden/status/2058271270563713167" social-type="twitter" /][p]That early breakthrough set the tone for the hosts, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pitarch-pinar-thiago/GQciGBE5/"]Thiago Pitarch[/a] went close to doubling their lead, only for Padilla to thwart the midfielder’s effort.[/p][p]At the other end, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ath-bilbao/IP5zl0cJ/"]Athletic[/a] struggled to create anything of note in the final third, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guruzeta-gorka/bTKd7PI5/"]Gorka Guruzeta[/a] directing a header wastefully off-target.[/p][p][b]Having lost just one of the last seven meetings (W5, D1), Real added a second goal before half-time, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellingham-jude/QNvlPm7s/"]Jude Bellingham[/a] finished emphatically from Pitarch’s looped pass to score for the second time in three matches.[/b][/p][embed guid="7206c191-cd40-4e7b-bdbd-412b4aedb9e8" url="https://x.com/realmadriden/status/2058276202389938373" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Undeterred, the visitors immediately pulled one back in first-half stoppage time through Guruzeta, who volleyed home from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-inaki/W4HzaGVn/"]Inaki Williams[/a]’ inviting delivery to give Los Leones a lifeline.[/b][/p][p][b]Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished by Los Blancos at the start of the second period, though, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] bagged his 25th LaLiga goal of the season via a clinical low finish from the edge of the box.[/b][/p][embed guid="57311ffe-b537-44d1-8208-b5c096ff17e9" url="https://x.com/realmadriden/status/2058282903373553783" social-type="twitter" /][p]Athletic refused to lie down without a fight, and Ernesto Valverde’s men remained a threat, with Guruzeta and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/boiro-adama/fR7uJqwO/"]Adama Boiro[/a] both going close.[/p][p]Those chances proved to be the visitors’ best opportunity of finding a route back into the contest, [b]as Real cruised through the closing stages, adding a late fourth through substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diaz-brahim/nm2Qvnyk/"]Brahim Diaz[/a]’s close-range finish. [/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="4249dde9-68c7-4472-9ab3-1d20306ce2aa" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="2ca31e6e-08d2-46be-8b3a-d0358f457d0b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]And although Los Leones scored a consolation goal themselves after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/urko-iruretagoiena/E1UCv80p/"]Urko Izeta[/a]’s towering header in the box,[/b] Real ended the season with a third straight league win, finishing eight points behind champions Barcelona.[/p][p]As for Athletic, they missed out on a sixth consecutive top-half finish, having lost eight of their final 12 LaLiga matches.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pitarch-pinar-thiago/GQciGBE5/"]Thiago Pitarch[/a] (Real Madrid)[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ath-bilbao-IP5zl0cJ/real-madrid-W8mj7MDD/summary/stats/?mid=hf989Iwo"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]