Kylian Mbapp scored his first hat trick for Real Madrid in a 3-0 win at struggling Valladolid and helped to extend its lead of La Liga on Saturday.
Gone was the inconsistent play and missed penalties from Mbapp during his first months with Madrid following his move from Paris Saint-Germain. The France captain has started pouring in goals with back-to-back multi-goal matches and has Madrid in pole position with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona stalled.
The game between the front-runner and the bottom side fit its billing as a mismatch.
Valladolid could draw only one save from Thibaut Courtois in the opening moments. It was all Madrid the rest of the way, and Mbapp heated up as he settles in with the defending champions.
Madrid’s fourth straight win in the league combined with Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Villarreal let Carlo Ancelotti’s side open a four-point gap over its city rival. Barcelona was in third place at 10 points back before hosting Valencia on Sunday.
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Four-point gap
Mbapp swept in Madrid’s first goal on the half-hour mark after a flowing team attack of quick passes to weave the ball through a packed Valladolid area that culminated in Jude Bellingham’s assist for the France star.
He made it a double in the 57th by finishing off a three-against-two counterattack after Federico Valverde intercepted a Valladolid pass. Mbapp took a pass by Rodrygo and rifled in a low strike from the left side of the box.
That made it four games in a row with a goal across all competitions for Mbapp. In La Liga, Mbapp has 15, second only to Robert Lewandowski’s 16 for Barcelona. He also scored twice last weekend against Las Palmas in a 4-1 win.
Vincius Jnior didn’t play as he completed a two-game suspension, but his absence was barely noticed.
Valladolid finished with 10 men after Mario Martn got a second booking in the 90th for a foul on Bellingham, sending Mbapp to the spot for his third.
