MADRID — Real Madrid put on a ruthless second-half show at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night, blowing past RB Leipzig 4-1 to keep a perfect record intact through three matches of the UEFA Champions League's expanded league phase — and the biggest sting belonged to a player wearing the wrong colors for a Leipzig crowd to stomach.

Yan Diomande, the Ivorian winger Real Madrid prised away from Leipzig for a fee that could rise to roughly €140 million ($189 million) over the summer, came off the bench and sealed the result with a thumping right-footed volley in the 87th minute — his first goal back against the club that developed him.

The numbers

Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute, pouncing after Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt could only parry Arda Güler's low shot into his own path. Güler doubled the lead nine minutes into the second half, poking home after Vandevoordt again failed to hold a save clean. Kylian Mbappé made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute — his 12th goal of the season across all competitions — finishing off a Diomande assist before Leipzig substitute Tidiam Gomis pulled one back two minutes later. Diomande had the last word soon after, curling in a volley from the left side of the box that the 73,016 in attendance at the Bernabéu will be replaying for a while.

The result pushes Madrid to 3-0-0 and a maximum nine points after three league-phase matchdays, extending a perfect start that already includes wins over Inter Milan and Roma. Leipzig, by contrast, drop to 1-1-1 with the loss on the road, still searching for consistency after an opening defeat to Como.

Leipzig were competitive for most of the first half but were outplayed once Silva's opener broke the game open just before the interval.

Context

The scoreline matters beyond the group table. Real Madrid have now scored at least three goals in each of their first three league-phase matches, with Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior providing a constant attacking outlet and Thibaut Courtois making the key saves at the other end — including a first-half stop to deny Christopher Nkunku a clean breakaway chance. For Leipzig, the night doubled as an awkward homecoming for Diomande, who left the Bundesliga side as its breakout attacker last season before Madrid made him one of the most expensive teenage transfers in the sport's history.

Wednesday's result was one of nine Champions League matchday-3 fixtures played across Europe, a slate that also saw Bayern Munich and Arsenal play to a 2-2 draw and Inter Milan edge Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0.

What's next

Real Madrid will look to keep their perfect record intact when league-phase play resumes in early November, with head coach José Mourinho able to rest key attackers given the margin of Wednesday's win. Leipzig, meanwhile, return to Bundesliga duty this weekend needing to find answers defensively before their next continental test. Diomande's night will headline the highlight reels regardless — a reminder, delivered in front of his old employers, of exactly why Madrid paid what it did.