Kylian Mbappé scores hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashes Manchester City to reach Champions League Round of 16
Kylian Mbappé had his best night so far in a Real Madrid shirt on Wednesday as his hat-trick propelled Los Blancos to a 3-1 win – 6-3 on aggregate – over Manchester City and into the Champions League round of 16. The French superstar was in devastating form, converting a delicate lob, a skillful individual run and a thumping left-foot drive to decisively prove that his slow start in Madrid has well and truly come to an end. “It’s brilliant. You go into games knowing he’s going to affect games,” teammate Jude Bellingham told TNT Sports. “You know when Kylian gets the ball in areas that he likes to get the ball, he’s going to be dangerous. Right foot, left foot – you saw the different kinds of goals today. 
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the match between Valladolid and Real Madrid in Valladolid, Spain, on Saturday, January 25, 2025. Manu Fernandez/AP
“It’s incredible, really, what he’s done in his career. I know he had a slow start and he was kind of getting used to life here, but now he’s just flying and it’s a pleasure to watch.” With Madrid 3-2 up on aggregate after the first leg in Manchester, it took just four minutes for the 26-year-old to open the scoring at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, as he got on the end of a long ball over the top by Raúl Asencio and lifted his shot over onrushing City goalkeeper Ederson. Any hope that the visitors might have had of a comeback was extinguished just after the half-hour mark when a lovely move involving Bellingham, Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo culminated in Mbappé skipping inside Joško Gvardiol and passing the ball into the net. The Frenchman added his third in the 61st minute, cutting inside Phil Foden and sending a vicious left-foot shot in at the far post to complete his third Champions League hat-trick, and his first in the competition for Madrid. 
Manchester City could not live with a Madrid front four of Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo. Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images “Fantastic player,” manager Carlo Ancelotti told TNT Sports. “We have a lot of quality in front – Vinícius, Rodrygo … Bellingham. When they are able to connect together, we are really, really dangerous. That happened in these two games.” Despite a late consolation goal from City’s Nico González, Los Blancos – the competition’s reigning champions – remain in the hunt for a record-extending 16th title. The emotions of the Real Madrid players could not have been more in contrast with those of their City counterparts. The 2022-23 European champion is floundering, this being its earliest exit from the competition since 2012, and the first time that manager Pep Guardiola has ever been eliminated from the tournament before the round of 16. “It’s a fantastic team,” he said of Madrid in an interview with TNT Sports. “We just congratulate them, they deserve to go through. We didn’t deserve (it). It’s the first year we didn’t make a good Champions League season. “We have to accept that right now, this season, we are not close enough to be there, and we’ll see what happens in the future.” 
Throughout his time with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Pep Guardiola had never exited the Champions League before the round of 16. David Ramos/Getty Images To make matters worse, star players Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne remained on the bench on Wednesday amid concerns over their fitness, and defender John Stones had to be substituted early in the game with an injury. City faces Liverpool in a huge game in the Premier League on Sunday. Elsewhere in the Champions League, PSV scored an extra-time winner to beat Juventus 4-3 on aggregate, PSG crushed Brest 7-0 to win 10-0 over both legs, and a goalless draw between Borussia Dortmund and Sporting CP saw the German side go through with a 3-0 aggregate victory. The other teams to come through the competition’s playoff stage were Feyenoord, Benfica, Club Brugge and Bayern Munich, who all progressed on Tuesday. Eight teams had already qualified directly from the league stage – Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa. Real Madrid will face either city rival Atlético or German champion Leverkusen, led by former Merengue midfielder Xabi Alonso. The draw for the round of 16 takes place on Friday.
Source: edition.cnn.com