Sports Desk:

Kylian Mbappe continued his impressive scoring streak as his 10th goal in nine league games earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Getafe on Sunday and sent his side back to the top of the LaLiga in a game where the hosts finished with nine men.

Real struggled to find a way past a stubborn Getafe until Allan Nyom was sent off 13 minutes from time, one minute after coming off the bench, and Mbappe scored three minutes later.

Alex Sancris was then sent off for a second booking before the end.

Real are on 24 points, two ahead of Barcelona and the top two will go head-to-head in next Sunday’s El Clasico. Getafe are 12th in the standings on 11 points.

“We’re very happy with Kylian Mbappe,” Real manager Xabi Alonso told reporters.

“Goals win you games, but I don’t like people saying we depend on Mbappe, there’s a lot of hard work behind it.

Alonso continued his habit of rotating the starting side, leaving both Vinicius Jr and Arda Guler on the bench while handing Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo rare starts.

The game began with both sets of players standing still for 15 seconds, part of a protest organised by the Spanish Footballers’ Association over LaLiga’s decision to play December’s match between Villarreal and Barcelona in the United States.

In reality, the match took even longer to get going.

Before the top of the table clash with Barcelona, Real host Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.

“Coming to Getafe is not easy,” Alonso added.

“You know that it may not be the most beautiful match. We were focused and did what we had to do.

It’s a win that allows us to start the week with very good energy.”