Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga with a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo at the Santiago Bernabeu, though the atmosphere around the club remained tense following their recent El Clasico disappointment.
Despite dominating possession, Madrid’s performance was far from convincing for large periods, with frustration audible from the home crowd throughout the evening.
The breakthrough eventually arrived just before half-time through academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia. After a clever pass from Brahim Diaz inside the area, the 22-year-old spun sharply onto his right foot and fired a composed finish into the bottom-right corner for his fifth league goal of the season.
Oviedo, despite their struggles near the foot of the table, produced moments of danger on the counterattack and looked surprisingly comfortable at times against a passive Madrid side.
Nacho Vidal missed their best opportunity of the first half, blasting over under pressure, while Thibaut Courtois was largely untested overall.
The second half settled into a slower rhythm, with Madrid controlling territory without fully convincing. Franco Mastantuono and Trent Alexander-Arnold both threatened from distance, while Oviedo continued to wait for openings on the break.
Much of the focus late on centred around Kylian Mbappe, who received a hostile reception from sections of the Bernabeu crowd when introduced from the bench in the 69th minute.
The French forward was loudly jeered as he entered the pitch, reflecting growing supporter frustration after a petition calling for him to leave the club reached millions of signatures.
Mbappe still managed to influence the outcome, though. Ten minutes from time, he fed Jude Bellingham on the edge of the area, and the England midfielder glided through traffic before firing a low left-footed strike beyond Aaron Escandell to secure the result.
