Mbappe on target as Real Madrid close gap on Atletico, Jesus Navas says tearful farewell

European soccer: Barcelona extended their poor run of form and slipped off the top of LaLiga by losing 2-1 at home to Atletico Madrid but coach Hansi Flick urged his side to move on and come back stronger after the winter break.
Mbappe on target as Real Madrid close gap on Atletico, Jesus Navas says tearful farewell

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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe netted the opener and set up another goal as the hosts beat Sevilla 4-2 to move up to second place in LaLiga and close the gap on Atletico Madrid to one point going into the winter break.

Federico Valverde and Rodrygo were also on target for Real, who raced into a 3-0 lead in 34 minutes while Brahim Diaz scored after halftime. Isaac Romero and Dodi Lukebakio scored for Sevilla, who are 12th in the standings.

The victory moved Real to 40 points, two points clear of Barcelona, who are third and have played a game more than the two teams from Madrid.

"I know I can do much more. I have the legs for that," said Mbappe, who struggled after moving to Real in the close season but has scored six goals in his last eight games.

"I think we know each other better, I have joined the team and that changes many things and now the adaptation, as the manager (Carlo Ancelotti) says is over," he added.

"I feel good in the team and we can see on the field that I understand my teammates better and we always play better."

The match also marked the final game of Jesus Navas's career as the Sevilla winger heads into retirement. The 39-year-old World Cup winner with Spain received a standing ovation from the Bernabeu crowd as well as a guard of honour from both teams before the match.

Barcelona extended their poor run of form and slipped off the top of LaLiga by losing 2-1 at home to Atletico Madrid but coach Hansi Flick urged his side to move on and come back stronger after the winter break.

Barca have now gone three games without a LaLiga win having picked up five points out of a possible 21, suffering defeats by Leganes and Las Palmas in their previous two home games. They are three points behind Atletico having played a game more.

"It was unbelievable how we played. Maybe this break came at the right time. I appreciate how we played. But we have to learn from these things. Losing nine points is not normal and we have to work on it," Flick said.

"The points lost against Las Palmas and Leganes are in the past. We will show after the break how strong we are. We are very disappointed with the defeat, but life goes on."

In spite of their latest setbacks, the former Bayern Munich coach said he was proud of his young team and will work to restore their confidence.

"When I drive at 6.30am to go to training I am happy because I can train with these players. Now there is not a good atmosphere in the dressing room, but that's football. We will be back for sure," he said.

"We have to build confidence and make them proud of how they play. My job is to give confidence to all the players. In Munich there was another team with a lot of experienced players. But I'm happy with this team, it's young and has fantastic quality."

In Italy, Atalanta's Charles De Ketelaere was his team's hero Sunday, scoring a late second goal to secure a 3-2 victory over Empoli at home and send his side back to the top of Serie A.

The Belgian weaved his way to the edge of the box four minutes from time, skilfully holding off defenders before drilling a low shot into the near bottom corner for the match-winning goal.

Atalanta now top the table with 40 points, two ahead of Napoli, with Empoli 11th with 19 points.

Lorenzo Colombo stunned the hosts after 13 minutes, giving Empoli the lead by driving a volley into the net, capitalising on a assist from the byline that took the Atalanta defence by surprise.

However, Atalanta showed why they are fighting at the top of Serie A, with De Ketelaere equalising after 34 minutes with a low diving header from a cross that managed to get into the bottom corner.

Ademola Lookman sealed Atalanta's first-half comeback in stoppage time, expertly bringing the ball down inside the box with his thigh before calmly slotting it into the net.

Napoli had returned to the Serie A summit with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Genoa after first-half goals by Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Amir Rrahmani plus crucial saves from Alex Meret. Anguissa and Rrahmani netted powerful headers and Meret's heroics helped end Genoa's six-game unbeaten run.

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund scored three times in five first-half minutes to beat VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 and claim their first Bundesliga away win of the season, despite going down to 10 men just past the hour, as they moved up to sixth place.

Donyell Malen, Maximilian Beier and Julian Brandt scored for Dortmund, who had Pascal Gross sent off after 62 minutes soon after Denis Vavro had pulled a goal back for the hosts.

Dortmund returned to winning ways after three straight draws and moved to 25 points from 15 games to sit in the last European qualifying spot, while Wolfsburg remain 11th with 21.

Bayern Munich, who thrashed RB Leipzig 5-1 on Friday, are top with 36 points, four points clear of Bayer Leverkusen. Patrik Schick scored four goals to help Leverkusen thrash Freiburg 5-1 and narrow the gap with leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.

The Czech striker scored three second-half goals in the space of 10 minutes to become Leverkusen's leading goalscorer in the league this season with nine goals.

An eighth straight win in all competitions moves Xabi Alonso's side four points behind Bayern, who beat RB Leipzig 5-1 on Friday.

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