Mbappé leads a night of braces across Europe

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Kylian Mbappé scored twice in a nervy Real Madrid victory in La Liga, while Christian Pulisic made his first appearance since the World Cup and helped AC Milan rally for a draw in Serie A yesterday.

Leaders Arsenal won in the Premier League.

Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg maintained their perfect starts in the Bundesliga, while Monaco dropped points for the first time in Ligue 1.

Mbappé scores to quiet grumbles

Mbappé scored the first and last goals in Real Madrid’s 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.

The France forward converted a 14th-minute penalty after Florian Lejeune made a rash challenge on Álvaro Carreras. Lejeune was again at fault when his misplaced pass was intercepted, leading to Mbappé setting up Carreras to make it 2-0. Jude Bellingham added the third goal in the 35th minute.

But modest Rayo seized the initiative at the Santiago Bernabéu after half-time, enjoying long spells of possession and exposing gaps in Madrid’s new-look defence.

Sergio Camello pulled one back in the 51st minute, moments after Pedro Díaz struck the post and forced the first of several saves from Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper was called into action again to keep out efforts from Lejeune and Heorhii Tsitaishvili.

The dip in performance prompted whistles from sections of the home support directed at José Mourinho’s side, until Mbappé restored calm by finding the corner in stoppage time.

His double drew the France striker level with Barcelona’s Raphinha and Rayo’s Camello on six goals after five rounds of La Liga action.

Pulisic makes impact in return

Pulisic helped spark AC Milan’s comeback in a 2-2 draw at Lazio in the United States midfielder’s first appearance for the Italian club this season.

Pulisic and Diego Moreira were introduced at half-time by coach Rúben Amorim, with Milan trailing by two goals in Rome.

The pair combined to ignite the comeback. Pulisic lofted a pass to the far post for Moreira to hammer home his first goal in the 65th minute. Just two minutes later, Moreira struck again from distance to earn a share of the points.

Pulisic had not played since sustaining a bone bruise and microfractures to his tibia and fibula when the United States exited the World Cup with a loss to Belgium in July.

Cagliari won 2-1 at Atalanta, while Genoa and Frosinone played to a 1-1 draw.

Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, fired Arsenal three points clear at the top of the Premier League with goals in a 2-0 win at Sunderland.

Substitute Guimaraes curled a long-range effort into the top corner to break the deadlock in the 58th minute, and Saka added a penalty in stoppage time.

Dortmund keep up winning form

Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg both made it three wins from three matches to start the Bundesliga season.

Felix Nmecha scored twice, including a late bicycle kick, as Dortmund beat Paderborn 3-0.

“That was the best goal of my career,” said Nmecha of his acrobatic effort. “When he stretched to score a cross with his back to the goal.”

Niko Kovac’s side has won five straight matches in all competitions, including a midweek victory over Villarreal in their Champions League opener. Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck started for Dortmund in his return from an ankle injury sustained at the World Cup.

Freiburg lead the table on goal difference after a 5-0 rout of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanović scored twice each in the emphatic victory. Both players netted after Gladbach were reduced to 10 men when Tim Kleindienst received a second booking.

Augsburg dropped points for the first time after Bayer Leverkusen rallied from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw. Michael Gregoritsch scored both of Augsburg’s goals early in the second half.

Eintracht Frankfurt beat Mainz 3-1. Hoffenheim defeated Stuttgart 2-1 for their first win of the season, while Werder Bremen drew 1-1 at Cologne.

More braces in Spain

Roberto Fernández continued his strong start to the campaign with two goals in Espanyol’s 2-0 win at Osasuna.

Fernández now has five goals in five matches this season after managing only seven in the whole of the previous La Liga campaign.

On a night of doubles across Europe, Yassir Zabiri also scored twice as promoted Racing Santander secured a 2-1 home victory over Alaves. Zabiri already has five goals since arriving on loan from Rennes.

It was a first defeat for Alaves after the small Basque club’s surprisingly strong start to the season.

Iñaki Williams rescued a 1-1 home draw for Athletic Bilbao against Elche.

Monaco were held 1-1 at Strasbourg as the Ligue 1 leaders failed to win for the first time this season.

Toulouse drew 2-2 at Lorient, Auxerre edged Nice 1-0, Paris FC and Lyon played out a goalless draw, and Le Havre and Angers also finished 0-0.