France and Real Madrid star player Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and reached 60 Champions League goals as his side thrashed Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan. The France captain slotted a penalty into the bottom corner early on after home goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza came flying out of his area and took out Franco Mastantuono.
Mbappe soon doubled his tally in the 52nd minute when he latched on to Thibaut Courtois’ ball over the top and dinked it over Kalmurza. In the 67th minute Valeri Gromyko appeared to be fouled by Dani Ceballos, with a penalty awarded to Kairat, but the decision was overturned after a VAR check.
Despite missing an excellent chance to seal his hat-trick when he sent the ball wide with the goal gaping, Mbappe did eventually finish from close range to complete his treble. Another France player Eduardo Camavinga came in as a sub and scored to it 4-0 before Brahim Diaz scored to complete the rout in the closing stages.
It was a much-needed win for Xabi Alonso’s side after a 5-2 humbling by city rivals Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday. Kylian Mbappe’s goals were his 58th, 59th and 60th in the Champions League and meant he overtook former Bayern Munich striker Thomas Muller to become the sixth highest scorer in the competition’s history.
