The Albany Gazette - Mbappe fires Madrid to victory at Real Oviedo

For Oviedo, returning to Spain's top flight after an absence of almost a quarter of a century, the arrival of the 15-time European champions was a gala occasion, and the Asturian fans made their presence heard.

Star turns Mbappe and Vinicius Junior made the difference in the north of Spain. The Frenchman notched a brace before the Brazilian slid in a late third.

Coach Xabi Alonso made a couple of notable changes to his starting line-up from Madrid's opening 1-0 win against Osasuna, dropping Vinicius and Trent Alexander-Arnold for Rodrygo Goes and club captain Dani Carvajal, returning from injury.

But the dropped Vinicius responded by producing an assist and a goal in his half-hour cameo.

Argentinian teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono made his full debut in another change for Los Blancos.

The 18-year-old showed his explosive dribbling ability early on when he burst past two defenders into the Oviedo box before going down and looking appealingly at the uninterested referee.

A rare foray forward by the hosts saw Leander Dendoncker run onto a throughball and try to catch Thibaut Courtois out with a chipped effort in the 23rd minute. The Belgian shotstopper beat a hasty retreat before easily plucking the ball from the sky.

Madrid came close to forcing a breakthrough when Arda Guler drive from inside the box was excellently saved by goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.

- Contentious opener -

The Turkish international turned provider as he drilled a pass into Mbappe's feet on 37 minutes, which the Frenchman welcomed on the turn before firing across Escandell.

The goal was met by furious protests from the home side after Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni seemed to follow through strongly on Dendoncker when winning possession back for his side in the build-up.

Madrid nearly doubled their lead five minutes into the second period when a defensive mix-up resulted in a clearance sliced straight into the hands of a grateful Escandell.

Rodrygo and the lively Mastantuono made way for Vinicius and Brahim Diaz just after the hour.

Diaz immediately created a gilt-edged chance for the galloping Fede Valverde when his cushioned pass found the Uruguayan inside the box, but Escandell produced a fingertip save to keep the score at 1-0.

Kwasi Sibo came within inches of sending the home support wild when, out of nowhere, he struck the post for Oviedo with Courtois rooted to the spot on 81 minutes.

That chance served to wake Madrid up. Vinicius won the ball two minutes later and drove forward towards the box before slipping a disguised pass to Mbappe who slotted home first time.

The Brazilian then scored in the 93rd minute, when Diaz found him in space and he slipped home a composed finish.

Elsewhere, Villarreal hammered Girona 5-0 at home as new signing Tajon Buchanan netted a hat-trick to open his La Liga account.

A second-consecutive defeat to start the season leaves Girona, who played Champions League football last season, bottom of the table with seven goals conceded and none scored.

The home side raced into a 4-0 lead inside 30 minutes, with Nicolas Pepe and Rafa Marin scoring as Buchanan grabbed a brace.

The Canadian then got his third four minutes after the hour to cap a scintillating performance by the Yellow Submarine.

Real Sociedad fought back from being 2-0 down at half-time in the Basque country to earn a point against Espanyol.

Pere Milla and Javi Puado gave the Catalans the lead, before Ander Barrenetxea and Orri Oskarsson hit back for Sociedad in eight second-half minutes.

Ante Budimir's ninth-minute goal gave Osasuna a 1-0 win over 10-man Valencia.

(K.Jones--TAG)