Mbappé’s Storm Strikes Las Palmas and Sends Real Madrid to the Top
French star Kylian Mbappé has fully established himself at his new club, Real Madrid, leading the team to overturn a deficit against Las Palmas with a 4-1 victory by scoring two goals. The match took place at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium during the 20th round of La Liga.
With this brace, scored in the 18th minute via a penalty and the 36th minute, Mbappé increased his tally to 12 goals in La Liga, climbing to second place in the scoring charts, four goals behind Barcelona’s Polish international striker Robert Lewandowski (16 goals). In all competitions, Mbappé now has 18 goals in 30 appearances, silencing the critics who doubted his impact after his move from Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid, missing their Brazilian star Vinícius Júnior due to a two-match suspension, capitalized on Atlético Madrid’s 0-1 loss to Leganés on Saturday. The victory put Los Blancos back on top with 46 points, two ahead of second-place Atlético and seven clear of third-place Barcelona.
After his impressive performances, including a stunning goal against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final and a crucial opener in the hard-fought 5-2 win over Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey Round of 16, Mbappé reflected on the Las Palmas match: “We started poorly and conceded a goal, but our reaction was excellent. We moved the ball forward quickly, attacked with precision, and scored plenty of goals. We’re happy to be back on top.”
Brahim Díaz added the second goal in the 33rd minute, while Brazilian Rodrygo sealed the victory with a fourth goal in the 57th minute. Portuguese forward Fábio Silva netted Las Palmas’ only goal in the opening minute.
Las Palmas played the final stages of the match with ten men following the dismissal of midfielder Benito Ramírez in the 64th minute. Despite this, Real Madrid couldn’t extend their lead in the closing minutes, which saw Austrian international defender David Alaba make his long-awaited return after more than a year out with a serious knee injury. He replaced German Antonio Rüdiger in the 76th minute.
Las Palmas stunned the home crowd with an early goal. Silva converted Sandro Ramírez’s close-range pass to tap the ball into the net in the first minute.
Real Madrid quickly regrouped, with Díaz missing a golden chance in the 3rd minute after a brilliant solo effort by Rodrygo. Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen denied Mbappé’s powerful strike in the 8th minute before a penalty was awarded following Sandro’s foul on Rodrygo. Mbappé calmly slotted the spot-kick to Cillessen’s left in the 18th minute.
The Frenchman and Rodrygo came close to giving Real Madrid the lead on two occasions, only to be spoiled by Cillessen (28th and 30th minutes). Díaz eventually found the net after capitalizing on a rebound from Cillessen following Mbappé’s thunderous shot. Lucas Vázquez provided the assist, allowing Díaz to finish into an empty net in the 33rd minute.
Real Madrid extended their lead before halftime, with Rodrygo delivering a cross from the left that Mbappé smashed into the top-right corner of the net from the center of the penalty area (36th minute).
Rodrygo added the fourth goal early in the second half, volleying Fran García’s cross into the bottom-right corner of the goal, confirming Real Madrid’s dominance and their return to the league’s summit (57th minute).
