Kylian Mbappé had a difficult start at Real Madrid, but he has now found his way – and this was evident on Saturday evening after he scored his first hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Real Valladolid. It is also 12 goals in his last 12 games in all competitions, and the treble also means he is just one behind Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski in the race for the Pichichi Trophy.
In total, Mbappe has scored 22 goals in 32 appearances, and parallels are understandably being drawn with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo's start at Real Madrid. The legendary Portuguese finished at 32 in his debut season, although injury limited him to 35 appearances.
Mbappe will be eyeing these 11 goals to take him past Ronaldo, although he will find it difficult to match the goals-to-plays ratio that the Real Madrid icon produced during the 2009-10 season. However, the 26-year-old has already improved one of his performances.
According to Diario AS, Mbappe's hat-trick against Valladolid came in his 19th La Liga appearance, making him the fourth fastest player to achieve the feat for Real Madrid – after Ruud van Nistelrooy (two games), Gareth Bale (nine) and Emmanuel Adebayor (14). By comparison, Ronaldo's 27th appearance saw him score his first League Treble for Los Blancos.
Mbappe looks like a player in his prime these days, and Real Madrid couldn't be happier with him. He was told earlier this week that his mentality has changed over the course of his debut season and it has turned around his fortunes at club level.
There's no doubt that Mbappe looks like one of the very best players in the world right now, and it can be considered as such. Both he and Real Madrid will be hoping this form continues for the rest of the season, and if it does, there will undoubtedly be more success.
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