Mbappe’s scoring outburst on Saturday night caps off a red-hot streak of eight goals in his last five games.
Kylian Mbappe bagged his maiden hat-trick for Real Madrid as the LaLiga champions easily beat bottom-club Real Valladolid 3-0 to extend their lead on top of the standings.
Real opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Mbappe played a neat one-two with Jude Bellingham on Saturday, bursting into the box to collect the Englishman’s pass to beat the offside trap before gleefully firing in past goalkeeper Karl Hein.
He extended their lead in a quick counter in the 56th minute, bursting up the left channel to receive a pass from Rodrygo before curling a low strike just inside the far post.
Mbappe, 26, wrapped up the victory from the penalty spot after Mario Martin was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Bellingham inside the box in added time.
Real top the LaLiga standings with 49 points, four ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid who dropped two points at home earlier on Saturday in a 1-1 draw against Villarreal. They are followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points, both with a game in hand.
“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.
“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.”
It was not the most inspired performance by Carlo Ancelotti’s team who struggled to create many scoring opportunities despite controlling the action with almost 70 percent of ball possession, finishing the game with only four shots on target.
Missing Vinicius Jr due to suspension after his red card against Valencia, Real once again relied on Mbappe to score the goals on a cold night.
The French superstar has played inconsistently in his first months at Madrid after joining last summer from Paris St Germain, but in recent weeks has returned to his devastating peak, scoring 15 LaLiga goals and 21 in all competitions.
Following a brace he bagged last week against Las Palmas and Saturday’s hat-trick, Mbappe now stands second in the LaLiga scoring charts, only one goal behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
