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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.

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“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.

“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.”

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.

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‘He can reach Cristiano’s level’ – Carlo Ancelotti backs newest ‘Galactico’ Kylian Mbappe to emulate Ronaldo’s success at Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappe is being backed by Carlo Ancelotti to “reach Cristiano’s level”, with Real Madrid’s latest ‘Galactico’ following in Ronaldo’s footsteps.

Portuguese superstar Ronaldo is the Blancos’ all-time leading scorer, with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner registering 451 goals for the club through 438 appearances. He bid farewell to the Spanish capital in 2018 and is still going strong at 40 years of age with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

Real moved to bring in another prolific presence when acquiring Mbappe as a free agent in 2024. He had previously netted 256 goals in 308 outings for Paris Saint-Germain and has reached 28 in his debut campaign for Madrid after bagging a hat-trick in their Champions League play-off demolition of Manchester City.

Ancelotti sees no reason why Mbappe cannot emulate CR7, telling reporters of his fearsome French forward: “He has the quality to reach his [Ronaldo’s] numbers, but he has to work, because Cristiano set the bar very high, but he is so excited to play here, he can reach Cristiano’s level.

“Everyone was waiting for this hat-trick from him and it has finally arrived. But Mbappe is not the only one, we have many players who make a difference. And they make a difference with their collective work above their individual quality which is remarkable.”

Mbappe has taken the No.9 jersey at Santiago Bernabeu and become an on-field leader for Real. He is, however, eager to point out that collective success will always mean more to him than individual honours – as he once again tops the Champions League scoring charts in 2024-25.

The France international said of his bid to win a first European title: “I was the Champions League’s top scorer last year, but did I win it? No. I don’t care about being the leading scorer, in my career, I have scored many goals. If with these goals we win titles I will sign with my blood. If I can score 50, all the better, but all I want is to win titles.”

Mbappe has previously sought to distance himself from any comparisons to Ronaldo, with the 26-year-old eager to be recognised for his own achievements. He has fired Real into the last 16 of the Champions League, with two trophies already won this season, while Ancelotti’s side also sit joint-top of the Liga standings with Clasico rivals Barcelona.

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City’s zombified figures are haunted by ghosts of themselves in Bernabéu exit

There is some certainty now that Guardiola’s greatest City side is formally over after a weak Champions League defeat

Instead they spent the first half moving about like zombified figures, a Manchester City team haunted by the ghosts of itself. There was a terrible pathos in the sight of Pep Guardiola at the edge of his technical area, alone in all that air, head gleaming tenderly under the lights, hearing his team laughed and cheered and rondo’d off at the home of his great Iberian rivals. There is at least some certainty now that his greatest City team is formally over. This was its wake, albeit a weirdly joyless one.