Mbappe closes in on Ronaldo’s record at Real Madrid

Real Madrid took on Talavera in the Copa del Rey round of 32 after a 2-1 win against Alaves in La Liga. As Talavera are only a third-division team, Madrid gave opportunities to players who have not had much game time this season, such as Gonzalo Garcia, Endrick and Andriy Lunin.

However, one notable name on the pitch was Kylian Mbappe. The 27-year-old forward played the full 90 minutes and scored twice: one from the penalty spot in the 41st minute and another from outside the box in the 88th minute. He was also involved in the second goal, as his shot forced a Talavera defender into scoring an own goal.

With these two goals, Mbappe now has 58 goals for Real Madrid this year, just one goal short of equalling the record for most goals in a calendar year, set by Ronaldo with 59 goals in 2013. The French forward will have one more chance to break the record, as Real Madrid face Sevilla on Saturday. This will also be their final match of 2025 before the two-week winter break.

Xabi Alonso spoke about Mbappe after the match: “[Mbappé] was decisive with his goals. Kylian always has that knack for scoring. The third goal was key, it was very important, and that’s why we kept him on the field. Mission accomplished, and on to the next one.”

The Spanish manager still had some concerns after the match, as the team conceded two goals and Lunin had to make a crucial save to prevent Talavera from equalising. However, Xabi was not overly worried. He said: “These things happen in the cup. It happened to us, and I’ve seen it happen to other teams. Even after going 1-3 up, we conceded the foul for the 2-3 free kick, they pressed hard and got back into the game.”

After the winter break, Real Madrid will face a very tight January schedule, playing roughly every five days, including:

- La Liga: Real Betis (4/1), Levante (19/1), Villarreal (26/1)

- Supercopa: Atletico Madrid (9/1)

- Champions League: Monaco (21/1), Benfica (29/1)