Real Madrid 4-1 RB Leipzig: Yan Diomande scores a late volley against his former club

Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, a result built on two goals either side of half-time and sealed in the closing minutes by two substitutes — one of them, Yan Diomande, scoring against the club he left for Madrid in a reported €125m deal over the summer.

Bernardo Silva put Real Madrid ahead in the 43rd minute without an assist, and Arda Güler doubled the lead nine minutes into the second half, finishing a Kylian Mbappé pass. Leipzig got back into the game through Tidiam Gomis in the 85th minute, set up by Christoph Baumgartner, but Madrid had already restored the two-goal cushion two minutes earlier, Mbappé converting a Diomande assist in the 83rd. Diomande completed the scoring himself in the 87th minute, a volley created by Brahim Díaz, to make it 4-1 and send the Bernabéu home having watched two of their substitutes combine for the night's final goal.

A perfect record now three matches deep

Real Madrid have won all three of their Champions League league-phase matches so far this season — this one following a 2-1 opening win over Inter Milan and a 4-3 away win at Roma on matchday 2 — and they go into matchday 4 with a maximum nine points on offer and nine collected. Domestically, José Mourinho's side sit 3rd in La Liga on 21 points from nine games, with four wins in their last five matches in all competitions before this one, the only blemish a league defeat at Atlético Madrid.

Diomande's night, and a mixed reception for others

Diomande's goal against his former employers is the headline individual story, a record-fee summer signing repaying some of that outlay with his first notable European moment in a Madrid shirt. Vinícius Júnior, by contrast, was whistled by sections of the home crowd during the win despite starting the match and playing the full 90 minutes — a reminder that form and results do not always settle a relationship between a player and his own supporters, even on a night his team scores four.

Leipzig's defence has now been exposed in two different ways

RB Leipzig arrived at the Bernabéu on the back of a win at PSV Eindhoven on matchday 2, after an opening 1-4 defeat at Como, and they leave Madrid having now shipped four goals in two of their three Champions League matches this season. The damage has come in bursts rather than across the full 90 minutes: three of Real Madrid's four goals here arrived inside a four-minute spell between the 83rd and 87th minute, Leipzig's own reply sitting right in the middle of it, which suggests a side capable of long periods of solid defending undone by specific moments rather than a team outclassed from start to finish.

Match stats

Match facts

• 43' — Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid)
• 52' — Arda Güler (Real Madrid), assist Kylian Mbappé
• 83' — Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), assist Yan Diomande
• 85' — Tidiam Gomis (RB Leipzig), assist Christoph Baumgartner
• 87' — Yan Diomande (Real Madrid), assist Brahim Díaz, volley
• Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid — Champions League league phase, matchday 3, Wednesday 21 October 2026

What's next

Real Madrid's perfect record keeps them on course for a top-eight finish and a direct route to the round of 16, while continuing a title challenge that has them 3rd in La Liga. RB Leipzig, who went into this round with one win and one defeat from their first two matches, now face matchday 4 needing a response in Europe, while sitting 7th in the Bundesliga on 9 points from six games domestically.