Kylian Mbappé demonstrated his scoring prowess with his first hat trick for Real Madrid in a commanding 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday, while emphasizing his priority remains the team's success in LaLiga over individual accolades.
The French striker initiated the scoring in the 30th minute through a well-executed combination with Jude Bellingham, followed by a second goal in the 57th minute, and completed his hat trick with a penalty in stoppage time. The comprehensive win strengthened Madrid's position at the top of LaLiga with 49 points, extending their lead to four points over Atlético Madrid, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal earlier in the day.
"I'm happy with the hat trick, but I'm more happy with the win," Mbappé told Real Madrid TV following the match. "It was very important to win today. After Atleti's result, there was more pressure." The striker has been in exceptional form, having netted 15 league goals this season and an impressive total of 22 across all competitions, including eight goals in his last five appearances.
Earlier in the week, teammates Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo expressed their commitment to helping Mbappé secure the Pichichi trophy as Spain's leading goal scorer. "Rodrygo and I are going to do all that we can for Mbappé to be top scorer in every competition, because that's why he came here," Vinícius stated. However, Mbappé responded modestly after his hat trick, saying, "That's nice, but I could say I need to help them too. We all want the team to win. If I'm top scorer, great -- I've done it a lot of times in my career -- but winning the league is the most important thing for me."
Coach Carlo Ancelotti, who recently dubbed Mbappé "the best centre-forward in the world," witnessed another stellar performance from his striker. Mbappé addressed his positional versatility, stating, "I said the first day here that I can play in all three positions in attack. My adaptation is over for sure. I feel good, with my movements, and my teammates, you can see it on the pitch." Ancelotti acknowledged Mbappé's consistency in his post-match comments, noting, "He's been playing well for a while. He scored three goals for the first time. He's contributing a lot. He found his rhythm a couple of months ago. It's a plus for us. He's a player who has a lot of quality."
