Kylian Mbappe’s superb start to 2025 continued as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 La Liga win at relegation-battling Real Valladolid.
Mbappe’s late penalty secured a first-ever hat trick for the France captain since joining Los Blancos last summer as he moved onto 15 league goals scored for the campaign so far.
His hot streak this month includes eight goals scored in his last five games in all competitions as he moves to within one goal of Robert Lewandowski in the La Liga Golden Boot race.
MORE: All the latest soccer news | Real Madrid news | Explaining how 'socios' own Real Madrid
His upturn in form, particularly from the penalty spot, is in stark contrast to how he ended 2024 with successive spot kicks infamously missed against Liverpool and Athletic Club.
Mbappe is revelling in his new central role in Carlo Ancelotti’s attack and he is aiming for a strong end to the campaign.
The former PSG striker is unlikely to match his final numbers in Paris after signing off in the French capital with 27 Ligue 1 goals scored [and 44 in all competitions] in 2023/24.
However, the 26-year-old has overtaken Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo in a key record, and he could challenge other benchmarks held by the Portugal star before the season finale.
Getty Images
Mbappe hat trick at Valladolid came in his 19th league game for Real Madrid. Ronaldo had to wait until his 27th league appearance to net three goals in a league match, with 19 also the magic number for Ronaldo Nazario in Madrid – only Ruud van Nistelrooy (2), Gareth Bale (9) and Emmanuel Adebayor (4) achieved it quicker than Mbappe.
That will give Mbappe hope of bettering Ronaldo’s tally from his first year in Madrid, where the 39-year-old scored 26 in league action and 33 overall, and Mbappe’s current rate would see him overtake that.
The latest data pins Mbappe at scoring a goal every 74 minutes at the start of 2025, and even if that dips slightly, Real Madrid still have 17 league games left on the calendar in the campaign run-in.