Mbappé scores twice and Madrid wins again to trail Barcelona by 4 points ahead of 'clasico'

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid survived a late scare but kept pace with leader Barcelona again on Sunday, ahead of their Spanish league “clasico” next weekend.

Kylian Mbappé scored in each half as Madrid held on to beat Celta Vigo 3-2 and remain four points behind the Catalan rival going into next Sunday's match in Barcelona.

“La Liga is in Barcelona’s hands, but we’ll have more chances if we’re able to win,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "It’s a great opportunity. We’re going to prepare well for Sunday’s game, which I’m not saying will be decisive, but almost.”

Arda Güler also scored for Madrid, which opened a 3-0 lead early in the second half but saw Celta get back into the game toward the end of the match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Celta had a couple of great chances to complete its comeback, including a shot by Pablo Durán that stopped just short of the goal line after a deflection by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 78th minute. Courtois had to make a couple of saves near the end to secure the win.

“We did very well for an hour, we could have managed the lead a little better, but in the end it was a nice win,” Ancelotti said.

Barcelona came from behind to defeat last-placed Valladolid 2-1 on Saturday, when coach Hansi Flick rested most of the team's regular starters ahead of its Champions League semifinal match at Inter Milan on Tuesday. Barcelona and Inter drew 3-3 in the first leg.

Güler put Madrid ahead with a shot into the top corner in the 33rd, and Mbappé scored in the 39th — also finding the top corner — and in a breakaway in the 48th. The France star hadn't scored in the league since March.

The match appeared under control until Javi Rodríguez pulled the visitors closer in the 69th and Williot Swedberg scored Celta's second goal in the 76th.

A couple of minutes later, Durán’s shot agonizingly stopped just in front of the goal line after the ball picked up some backspin as it struck Courtois.

“It was a shame,” Celta striker Borja Iglesias said. “We had our chances. That shot by Pablo almost went in. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Celta, which was coming off a 3-0 win over Villarreal, stayed in seventh place.

There were a few jeers from the Bernabeu crowd as Madrid struggled to hold on to its lead late in the game.

It was the fourth straight league win for Madrid, which last Saturday lost the Copa del Rey final to Barcelona and last month was eliminated by Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

“We played the last game (against Barcelona) a week ago. It was a very competitive game and we came close to winning," Ancelotti said. "We don’t have to invent a lot of things. We’re going to play a serious game. It’s very important. We’re going to play with all the confidence in the world. Despite all the difficulties, we’re there and to be able to fight this match is something nice.”

He said having Mbappé in top form will be key.

“He’s going to be a very important player in this match due to the fact that Barcelona play with a very high line," Ancelotti said. “His runs in behind are going to be very important and decisive.”

Forward Rodrygo was not included in the squad because of illness.

The Basque Country derby ended in a 0-0 draw between Athletic Bilbao and host Real Sociedad.

Athletic is three points ahead of fifth-placed Villarreal and six points behind third-placed Atletico Madrid. Athletic was coming off a 3-0 home loss to Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals.

Midtable Sociedad is winless in four matches.

Also Sunday, 15th-placed Sevilla drew 2-2 with second-to-last Leganes, while sixth-placed Real Betis beat 14th-placed Espanyol 2-1.

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Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, left, heads the ball ahead of Celta's Hugo Alvarez during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with Vinicius Junior after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, centre, challenges for the ball with Celta's Marcos Alonso, left, and Celta's Javi Rodriguez during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, centre, and Celta's Yoel Lago, right, in action during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, right, makes an attempt to score during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates with Jude Bellingham after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, second left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Kurdish fighters were evacuated from a contested neighborhood in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, officials said early Sunday, a move that could bring an end to several days of violent clashes with government forces.

State-run news agency SANA reported buses transported the last of the fighters from the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

“Through international mediation to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding leading to a ceasefire and the safe evacuation of martyrs, the wounded, trapped civilians, and fighters from the Achrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods to northern and eastern Syria," SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in a post on X.

He called for “mediators to uphold their promises to stop the violations and work towards the safe return of the displaced to their homes.”

An Associated Press journalist at the scene saw buses leaving Sunday and was told by officials that the transports carried 360 fighters. Other buses carrying civilians and detained fighters departed on Saturday.

Syrian security forces deployed Saturday in Sheikh Maqsoud after days of clashes with Kurdish fighters that killed and wounded dozens.

During the day, several drone strikes were reported in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, leading authorities to stop civilian flights at Aleppo International Airport until further notice, state TV said.

On Saturday afternoon, an explosive drone hit the Aleppo Governorate building shortly after two Cabinet ministers and a local official held a news conference on the developments in the city. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Syria’s state TV aired footage showing a drone exploding as it slammed into the building and blamed Kurdish fighters for the attack. The SDF denied the reports, saying its fighters did not attack a civilian target.

The fighting between the two sides is the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad in December 2024. At least 22 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced.

U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack held talks in Damascus Saturday with top officials, including President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and called on all parties to cease hostilities and return to dialogue.

“Violence risks undermining the progress achieved since the fall of the Assad regime and invites external interference that serves no party’s interests,” Barrack said in comments posted on X. “We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue,” he added, saying that fighting undermines the deal reached in March between the government and the Kurdish leadership.

He said recent developments in Aleppo were “deeply concerning,” and Washington's objective “remains a sovereign, unified Syria — at peace with itself and its neighbors — where equality, justice, and opportunity are extended to all its people.”

Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that two Kurdish fighters blew themselves up while surrounded by security forces without inflicting casualties, as gunfire was still heard in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud around noon Saturday.

From the early hours, Syrian security forces were sweeping the neighborhood after calling on residents to stay home for their own safety.

Hundreds of people who fled the neighborhood days earlier were waiting at Sheikh Maqsoud’s entrances to be allowed in once the military operations are over.

Clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid, after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge their forces into the national army. Security forces have since captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

Kurdish forces said at least 12 civilians were killed in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in the five days of fighting, while government officials reported at least 10 civilians were killed in the surrounding government-controlled areas.

Syria’s Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa told state TV that Kurdish fighters used civilian buildings including hospitals and clinics during the fighting. Each side has accused the other of starting the violence and of deliberately targeting civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure, including ambulance crews and hospitals.

The Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which controls much of Syria’s northeast, said that security forces targeted Khaled Fajr Hospital in Sheikh Maqsoud, putting the lives of patients and paramedics in danger. It called on the international community to intervene to force government forces to stop shelling.

State TV reported that at least one security member was wounded when a drone fired by the SDF struck the neighborhood.

Associated Press journalists said bursts of gunfire could be heard as government-deployed drones flew over Sheikh Maqsoud.

The Syrian military declared the neighborhood a “closed military zone” since Friday night as it launched a “clearing operation.”

On Friday, Barrack discussed the developments in Syria with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman. The U.S. envoy said Jordan offered support to efforts aimed at consolidating the ceasefire and the peaceful withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from Aleppo.

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A woman and her children react with distress as civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Kurdish citizens wave their group and Lebanese flags during a protest against the Syrian government military operation in Aleppo, in front the United Nations headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Civilians evacuate an area of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian police convoy secures the area just outside the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

A Syrian police convoy gathers in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)