Real Madrid eased to a deserved 3-0 win at hosts Racing Santander in their Spanish league meeting at El Sardinero. The Royal club kept their winning run going, cut the gap to leaders Barcelona to three points and tightened their grip on third place.
José Mourinho's side went into the game chasing a sixth straight victory, having watched rivals Barcelona thrash Alavés 6-1.
Madrid lined up in a 4-2-3-1, with Thibaut Courtois in goal and an attacking quartet of Arda Güler, Jude Bellingham, Yan Diomande and Kylian Mbappé.
From the opening minutes, Madrid took control. They broke the deadlock on 11 minutes when Mbappé burst into the box off a Diomande pass and was tripped by Prати. The referee pointed to the spot, a controversial call, and the Frenchman buried the penalty with a powerful low shot to the right of goalkeeper Aguirrezabala.
Racing Santander nearly hit back straight away, only for Courtois to produce a brilliant save from Iker Luque's effort in the 13th minute. That denied the hosts a route back into the match. Madrid then doubled their lead on 22 minutes through Bellingham, who swept home after a flowing move involving a Mbappé pass and a ball from Güler.
Racing's misery deepened when Álvaro Mantilla had to limp off injured. Diomande landed the third blow in the 36th minute, thumping a rocket from outside the box into the top corner after the Racing defence half-cleared a Güler corner.
Madrid retreat in the second half
After the break, Madrid stayed on top but eased off the attacking throttle they had shown in the first half. Racing Santander looked to pounce on that retreat and pull a goal back.
Zabiri threatened on 54 minutes with a low shot. Mbappé hit back with a quick break and a fierce effort in the 60th minute that smacked the left post, while Diomande saw another attempt come to nothing.
On 75 minutes, Tchouaméni almost conceded a penalty when the ball struck his hand inside the box. VAR stepped in to overturn the decision, with replays showing the ball had hit the Frenchman's foot first.
Mourinho rang the changes late on, bringing on Díaz, Camavinga and Endrick, but the score stayed the same. Madrid wrapped up a clean hat-trick, banked three vital points to hold third place and trimmed the gap to league leaders Barcelona to just three points.