Kylian Mbappe scored his first hat-trick for Real Madrid, leading the LaLiga champions to a comfortable 3-0 victory over bottom-placed Real Valladolid on Saturday.
The French forward opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a clever one-two with Jude Bellingham, beating the offside trap and firing past goalkeeper Karl Hein. He doubled the lead in the 56th minute with a precise left-channel counter-attack, curling a low strike inside the far post.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Mario Martin’s red card for a dangerous tackle on Bellingham in added time.
The victory extended Real Madrid’s lead at the top of LaLiga to 49 points, four ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Villarreal earlier that day. Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao follow, level on 39 points with a game in hand.
“Happy for the hat-trick but more for the win,” Mbappe told Real Madrid TV. “We had to play well, we scored the first goal in a collective action.”
Despite controlling 70 percent of possession, Carlo Ancelotti’s team struggled to create numerous scoring opportunities. Missing Vinicius Jr due to suspension, Real relied on Mbappe’s goal-scoring prowess.
After an inconsistent start since joining from Paris St Germain last summer, Mbappe has recently returned to top form. He now stands second in LaLiga’s scoring charts with 15 league goals, just one behind Robert Lewandowski.
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