European football: Mbappé lifts Real double; Dele Alli joins Como | European club football

Kylian Mbappé was in inspired form and scored twice as an assist Real Madrid to a comeback 4-1 win over visitors Las Palmas that took the champions to the top of La Liga.

Real surpassed Atlético Madrid, who lost 1-0 at lowly Leganes On Saturday they were top with 46 points, two ahead of their local rivals, while third-placed Barcelona were seven points behind after being held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe.

Las Palmas took the lead 25 seconds after kick-off when Fábio Silva whipped in Sandro Ramírez’s cross from close range, but Real piled on the pressure and Mbappé equalized from the penalty spot in the 18th minute after Rodrygo had made a mistake. Brahim Díaz scored in the 33rd minute to put Real ahead and Mbappé extended their lead three minutes later with a fine first effort into the top corner from a cross from Rodrygo, who scored the fourth after a quick counter-attack in the 57th minute.

Las Palmas were reduced to 10 men when substitute Benito Ramírez was shown a straight red card for a stud-up tackle on Lucas Vázquez in the 64th minute.

Dele Alli will aim to get his career back on track in Italy after signing an 18-month contract If. The former Tottenham midfielder has not played competitively since 2023 after a lengthy layoff due to injury, addiction and mental health problems, but will join the Serie A club managed by Cesc Fabregas. The Como manager said: “The club believes in Dele’s potential and wants to help him rediscover his best form. His experience and leadership qualities will undoubtedly benefit the team.” Como are seventeenth in Serie A and will host Udinese on Monday evening.

Below beat Empoli 3-1 at home to keep pace with Napoli at the top Series A. Lautaro Martínez opened the scoring with a curling shot after 55 minutes, Denzel Dumfries added a second with a powerful header from a corner in the 79th, and Marcus Thuram sealed the victory 10 minutes later after Empoli had reduced the deficit. Inter are second in the table with 47 points, three behind leaders Napoli, but with a game in hand. Empoli is 14th with 20 points.

In Germany Steffen Baumgart oversaw his first victory as coach of Union Berlin when his team ended their eleven-match winless run with a 2-1 win over Mainz in the Bundesliga. Goals from Benedict Hollerbach and Robert Skov gave Union their first win since October, and their first at the third attempt since former player Baumgart returned as coach for the sacked Bo Svensson.