After a sedate start to his Real Madrid season, Kylian Mbappe has rediscovered his goal scoring touch, netting 31 goals in all competitions for the club. With at least 12 games remaining in the season, he is touted to surpass his idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut season haul of 33 strikes.
But the Frenchman shies away from comparisons with the Portuguese legend. “If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano it doesn’t mean that I am better, just that my first season is better. Scoring goals is important, but it is even more so if we win La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey,” he told reporters after securing a brace that notched three points against a resilient Villarreal, whom they beat 2-1 after conceding an early goal.
“The adaptation period for me has ended and now I have to show my quality. I want to play well here, I want to make a mark on the season,” he had said earlier.
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He already bettered the record set by Brazil’s Ronaldo (30), and could even eclipse the all-time debut-season record set by Chilean Ivan Zamorano (37 in 1992-1993). Again, he laughed off the likening. “They are legends who marked eras with the club,” he would say. He would be happier that he has struck a rich vein of form that has taken his club to the top of the pile, clear of rivals Barcelona by three points, though the latter has two games in games.
He, though, was furious at Arda Guler, who did not pass to him for what could have been his third Madrid hat-trick later in the game. It could have given Madrid more breathing space as Villareal threatened to claw back into the game, only to be saved by the goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, who made a total of nine saves.
Mbappe, at only, is a long way from scaling the stratospheric peaks of Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white shirt (422 goals, 116 assists, and 14 major trophies). But manager Carlo Ancelotti believes he could. He has the quality to reach his (Ronaldo’s) numbers, but he has to work, because Cristiano set the bar very high. He is so excited to play here, and he can reach Cristiano’s level.”
