Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Valladolid v Real Madrid - Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain - January 25, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
VALLADOLID, Spain (Reuters) -Kylian Mbappe bagged his first hat-trick for Real Madrid as the LaLiga champions easily beat bottom-club Real Valladolid 3-0 on Saturday to extend their lead on top of the standings.
Real opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Mbappe played a neat one-two with Jude Bellingham, bursting into the box to collect the Englishman's pass to beat the offside trap before gleefully firing in past goalkeeper Karl Hein.
He extended their lead in a quick counter in the 56th minute, bursting up the left channel to receive a pass from Rodrygo before curling a low strike just inside the far post.
Mbappe wrapped the win from the penalty spot after Mario Martin was sent off for a studs up tackle on Bellingham inside the box in added time.
Real top the LaLiga standings with 49 points, four ahead second-placed Atletico Madrid who dropped two points at home earlier on Saturday in a 1-1 draw against Villarreal. They are followed by Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, level on 39 points, both with a game in hand.
"Happy for the hat-trick but more for the win, I say it every week but it was important to win today after Atletico's draw," Mbappe told Real Madrid TV.
"We had to play well, we scored the first goal in a collective action. In the second half we could have played better, but we scored the second, managed well and scored the third."
It was not the most inspired performance by Carlo Ancelotti's team who struggled to create many scoring opportunities despite controlling the action with almost 70% of ball possession, finishing the game with only four shots on target.
Missing Vinicius Jr due to suspension after his red card against Valencia, Real once again relied on Mbappe to score the goals on a cold night.
After a slow start in the Spanish capital, the former Paris St Germain player has found his groove in the last two months, scoring 15 LaLiga goals and 21 overall.
Following a brace he bagged last week against Las Palmas and Saturday's hat-trick, Mbappe now stands second in the LaLiga scoring charts only one goal behind Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas in Madrid, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
