Mbappe scores first LaLiga hat-trick for Real Madrid in win over Valladolid

Real Madrid’s LaLiga champions easily defeated bottom-placed Real Valladolid 3-3 to regain their lead in the standings with Kylian Mbappe’s maiden hat-trick.

Real opened the scoring on Saturday in the 30th minute with a neat one-two between Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, who had collected the Englishman’s pass to beat the offside trap before gleefully shooting past goalkeeper Karl Hein.

In the 56th minute, he quickly extended their lead by bursting up the left channel after Rodrygo sent a pass to him before curling a low strike just inside the far post.

After Mario Martin was shown a red card for a studs-up tackle on Bellingham inside the box in extra time, Mbappe, 26, grabbed the victory from the penalty spot.

Real leads LaLiga by four points over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who suffered two points at home against Villarreal in a 1-1 draw. They are followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points, both with a game in hand.

After Atletico’s draw, Mbappe stated on 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,” he said.

“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”.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team struggled to create many scoring chances despite dominating the action with almost 70% of ball possession and coming away with only four shots on target.

Real once more relied on Mbappe to score the goals on a chilly night after missing Vinicius Jr. due to his red card against Valencia.

After leaving Paris St Germain last summer for Madrid, the French superstar struggled in his first two months, but he recently hit his new heights, scoring 15 LaLiga goals and 21 overall.

Following a brace he bagged last week against Las Palmas and Saturday’s hat-trick, Mbappe now stands second in the LaLiga scoring charts, only one goal behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.