Mbappe ‘perfect’ on Real’s super night

Mbappe ‘perfect’ on Real’s super night

Mbappe ‘perfect’ on Real’s super night ByDhiman Sarkar Feb 20, 2025 08:38 PM IST Share Via Copy Link Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick against Manchester City showcased his speed and skill, leading Real Madrid to a convincing 3-1 victory in the Champions League.

Kolkata: Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick against Manchester City encapsulated what makes him such a force of nature: speed, spatial awareness and skill. The first goal came from the centre, the second from the left and the third from the right. The first two goals came from the right foot, the last from his left. Seamlessly switching places with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo, Mbappe roamed the front third like he was ruling it.

Real Madrid's forward Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring the opening goal against Manchester City. (AFP)

He was too fast for Nathan Ake, too good for Josko Gvardiol, too strong for John Stones and too slippery for Ruben Dias. If the opening goal felt like a sucker punch, the next two sucked out whatever fight City may have had. Mbappe now has three Champions League hat-tricks, two of them in knockout rounds like Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski. Will this be the season when he wins it for the first time?

After the 1-3 defeat that knocked them out 3-6 on aggregate in this play-off tie, Pep Guardiola accepted that City were not at the level of the side that had played two Champions League finals, winning one.

It sounded like an English understatement. For most of Wednesday night at Santiago Bernabeu, City were Real’s comforters not competitors, Washington Generals to Harlem Globetrotters, merely there because they could not be anywhere else. Nico González scored an injury-time goal but it was the way he pulled Vinicus Jr’s shorts that showed the gap between the teams.

Real attacked and defended with vigour – Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio celebrated a block by the latter with chest bumps and Federico Valverde sortied on the right tirelessly in the way you couldn’t tell that he was a makeshift right-back– City backed off and allowed Mbappe to complete his hattrick in the 61st minute after swatting away Phil Foden. Nearly 30 minutes in, Thibaut Courtois could have been at home and no one would have noticed. “This was a perfect night… we won because we produced a great performance,” said Mbappe.

He had started it, timing his run to meet Asencio’s long ball. Symptomatic of City’s slide, Dias slipped, Stones could not get around Mbappe and Ederson left his line. Mbappe glanced at where Ederson was and adjusted himself to lob Real ahead. Four minutes in and for all of City’s possession, Real were 4-2 ahead on aggregate.

Speed adds sparkle to Mbappe’s game. Remember him scything through Argentina in 2018, notching up a top speed of 37kmph in 2018? Or, gliding past Poland’s Przemyslaw Frankowski four years later leaving Al Thumama Stadium gasping in disbelief as the giant screen showed that he had reached 35kmph?

The Athletic dissected that part of Mbappe’s game with experts noting his longer step length. The article also pointed out how Mbappe accelerates when the opponent is most disadvantaged and how, under Mauricio Pochettino at Paris St-Germain, he has learnt to slow down as he approaches the goal. It helps Mbappe stay calm, wait for his mates and swiftly switch direction.

The last bit helped in the second goal, Mbappe making Gvardiol sit with a swivel before scoring in the 33rd minute. Following a free kick after a foul by Gvardiol, Real circulated the ball from right to left and to right again before Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo combined to find Mbappe. Rodrygo’s touch took out Abdukodir Khusanov before Mbappe swayed and scored.

Letting Mbappe run at the central defenders with deliveries behind the City high line was a Real ploy and it nearly worked again when Aurélien Tchouaméni produced a pass that had Dias struggling and Ederson forced into a save. But then, Real showed they could also conjure a slick sequence of passes reminiscent of Guardiola’s Barcelona.

“Mbappe is a fantastic player,” said Carlo Ancelotti. “When Rodrygo, Bellingham and Vinicius Jr are able to connect together we are really dangerous,” the Real manager said. The world knows that but this felt too easy for the defending champions. Surely, Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, Real’s likely opponents in the round of 16, will provide a sterner test.

Equally, this was proof of how far Mbappe had left his starting troubles behind. This wasn’t the player who had been shackled by Conor Bradley, missed penalties, was averaging a goal for Real every 136.5 minutes and has been left out of by France. With 18 goals in his last 18 matches this was forwardline royalty who was comfortable as No. 9 as he was on the wings. As per Opta, Mbappe has notched up 501 goal contributions (359 goals, 142 assists) and at 26, he looks capable of carrying forward the legacy of the Ronaldos and Karim Benzema at this storied club.

“I want to mark an era,” Mbappe said after the match. History may point to this play-off match as to when it began.