Kylian Mbappé continued his brilliant form with a sensational hat-trick on Saturday, propelling Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Valladolid and extending their La Liga lead to four points.
Earlier in the day, Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home against Villarreal, while Barcelona, sitting in third, are now 10 points behind Madrid ahead of their Sunday match against Valencia.
After a slow start to his Real Madrid career following his summer transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé has hit his stride in recent weeks.
His hat-trick against Valladolid took his league tally to 15 goals, just one behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who has 16.
Even without the suspended Vinicius Junior, Madrid dominated the game, despite Valladolid’s early pressure.
A header from David Torres forced a strong save from Thibaut Courtois, but that would be the closest the visitors came to scoring.
The opening goal arrived in the 30th minute when Jude Bellingham’s deflected pass found Mbappé, who curled a beautiful shot into the top corner.
The French forward has now scored in each of his last five matches, cementing his status as the attacking threat Madrid had hoped for.
While Madrid controlled the match, it was Mbappé who struck again in the 57th minute.
A quick pass from Rodrygo sent Mbappé into space, and he calmly slotted a low shot past Valladolid goalkeeper Karl Hein.
Mbappé completed his hat-trick late in the game, converting a penalty after Mario Martin fouled Bellingham in the box, resulting in a red card for the Valladolid defender.
Mbappé sent Hein the wrong way from the spot, marking his 12th goal in his last 11 appearances across all competitions.
