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Mbappe hat-trick gives Real Madrid easy win at Valladolid

Kylian Mbappe bagged his first hat-trick for Real Madrid as the La Liga 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 La Liga 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.

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 per cent 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 La Liga 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 La Liga scoring charts only one goal behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. —Reuters

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