Kylian Mbappé marked his first hat trick for Real Madrid in style, leading his side to a commanding 3-0 win over bottom-placed Real Valladolid on Saturday.
The victory pushes Los Blancos four points clear at the top of the LaLiga standings.
The French forward opened the scoring in the 30th minute, finishing off a brilliant one-two with Jude Bellingham with a powerful right-footed strike that flew past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein.
Mbappé doubled his tally in the 57th minute after a blistering counter-attack. Linking up with Rodrygo, he drove into the box and calmly placed the ball into the net from the left side.
While Real Madrid controlled possession for much of the game, they struggled to create many chances, finishing with just four shots on target.
With time running out, it seemed Mbappé might miss out on the match ball.
However, a VAR-reviewed penalty in stoppage time changed that. The referee deemed Mario Martín’s sliding tackle on Jude Bellingham a foul and sent Martín off with a red card. Mbappé stepped up and converted the penalty to seal his hat trick.
The result widened Real Madrid’s lead at the summit after Atlético Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal.
Even if Barcelona, who face Valencia on Sunday, secure three points, they will still trail their rivals by seven.
Speaking after the game, Mbappé told Real Madrid TV, “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. 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.”
Despite their dominance with nearly 70% possession, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had a quiet night offensively, relying heavily on Mbappé in the absence of the suspended Vinícius Jr., who was red-carded in the previous match against Valencia.
After a slow start in Madrid, Mbappé has hit his stride, scoring 15 LaLiga goals and 21 in all competitions.
With his recent brace against Las Palmas and Saturday’s treble, he has climbed to second in the league’s scoring charts, just one goal behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
