Kylian Mbappe made goalscoring history in the first half of Real Madrid’s blockbuster El Clasico encounter with Barcelona.
The 26-year-old took center stage in Spanish football on Sunday, scoring from the penalty spot just five minutes into the match, giving Real Madrid an early lead.
This marked Mbappe’s 37th goal of the season across all competitions, tying him with former Chilean star Ivan Zamorano. It wasn’t long before he surpassed this record to stand alone.
A sublime pass from Vinicius Junior with the outside of his boot found Mbappe clean through on goal against Wojciech Szczesny. Displaying confidence, he secured his 38th goal of the season by outmaneuvering the seasoned Polish keeper and curving the ball into the net’s far corner.
Mbappe arrived in Madrid to tremendous fanfare but also pressure, carrying the status of being world football’s best forward. It took the Frenchman a little while to settle in the Spanish capital, by his own incredibly high standards, but despite Los Blancos’ inability to deliver consistent results under Carlo Ancelotti, he’s gone on to show his class.
26 of Mbappe’s goals – tallied after 45 minutes of the game. by which point Barcelona had incredibly fought back to lead 4-2 thanks to goals from Eric Garcia, Lamine Yamal and a brace from Raphinha – have come in La Liga, placing him a goal ahead of Robert Lewandowski in the race for the Pichichi Trophy which is Spain’s equivalent of the Premier League’s Golden Boot.
A further 12 goals have come in domestic cup and Champions League competition, though Mbappe was unable to help his side achieve a 16th title in the latter – Madrid resoundingly beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Mbappe is now expected to press on and breach the 40-goal mark in all competitions, but Madrid’s worrying inability to hold on to a lead is one reason why it will be a summer of change in the dugout. Ancelotti looks to be heading to South America to take the Brazil national team job, making space for Xabi Alonso to arrive from Bayer Leverkusen to usher in a new era.
