Kylian Mbappe announced his arrival in La Liga with a stunning hat-trick as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory over bottom-club Real Valladolid on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of the table, Al Jazeera reports.
The French superstar’s virtuoso performance was the highlight of a comfortable, if not scintillating, outing for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 30th minute after a slick one-two with Jude Bellingham. He timed his run perfectly to collect Bellingham’s return pass inside the box, deftly beating the offside trap before firing past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein.
The 26-year-old doubled the advantage in the 56th minute with a blistering counter-attack. After receiving a pass from Rodrygo on the left flank, Mbappe cut inside and curled a low, precise shot just inside the far post. The scoring was completed from the penalty spot in added time after a late challenge by Mario Martin on Bellingham earned the Valladolid defender a red card. Mbappe stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty home to secure his first Real Madrid hat-trick.
“Happy for the hat-trick but more for the win, I say it every week but it was important to win today after Atletico’s draw,” Mbappe told Real Madrid TV, adding, “We had to play well, we scored the first goal in a collective action. In the second half, we could have played better, but we scored the second, managed well and scored the third.”
The victory puts Real Madrid on 49 points, four clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid who could only manage a 1-1 draw against Villarreal earlier in the day. Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao are tied for third place on 39 points, both with a game in hand.
Despite enjoying almost 70 percent possession, Real struggled to create a plethora of clear-cut chances, finishing with just four shots on target. Without the suspended Vinicius Jr., the onus was once again on Mbappe to provide the spark, which he duly delivered.
After a somewhat inconsistent start to his Real Madrid career following his summer move from Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe is clearly hitting his stride. He has now scored 15 LaLiga goals and 21 in all competitions, including a brace against Las Palmas last week.
