Fourteen goals. Ten games. One man on a mission to make history.
Kylian Mbappé, the fast Real Madrid forward who came to the Bernabéu with a billion hopes, is now living up to every single one of them, at least in Europe. The 27-year-old has tied Lionel Messi’s record for the second-most goals scored in a single Champions League season. Messi set this record with Barcelona in the 2016/17 season. Kylian Mbappé, the electric Real Madrid forward who arrived at the Bernabéu with the weight of a billion expectations, is now delivering on every last one of them—at least in Europe. The 27-year-old has drawn level with Lionel Messi’s record for the second-highest goals tally ever recorded in a single Champions League season, a mark the Argentine set with Barcelona back in the 2016/17 campaign.
His most recent contribution—a trademark clinical strike in Tuesday’s 1-2 quarter-final first-leg loss at home to Bayern Munich—didn’t help ease the pain of the result. Still, it did solidify his place in this year’s competition.
Following a legend, Ronaldo called.
Of course, there is still one mountain to climb. Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 17 goals in the 2013/14 season is still three ahead of Mbappé’s current total. This gap once seemed impossible to close, but it no longer seems completely out of reach.
Mbappé had already caused a stir earlier in the campaign. By January, he had tied Ronaldo’s record of 11 goals in the first phase, a feat that shocked the entire sport. He then pushed on, scoring two goals against Benfica to tie Messi at 14. His most recent goal kept the record alive in the Bayern match.
With an average of 1.28 goals per Champions League match this season, the math is still possible, but only if Real Madrid can pull off a miracle in Munich.
Kane Lurks, but the gap is clear.
Harry Kane, an English striker for Bayern Munich who never stops, is the only one keeping up with Mbappé, who has 11 goals to Kane’s 3. A tough opponent, for sure, but three goals is a big gap at this point in the competition, and Kane’s team will be focused on defence, not personal goals, on April 15.
The difference in shape between the two sides going into the second leg is very clear. Bayern has a strong lead in the tie, and their overall advantage gives them the freedom to be practical in front of their own fans.
Budapest Dreams on Hold
The Champions League final will be in Budapest, and Mbappé has made it clear he wants to win the trophy on the biggest stage possible. But right now, Real Madrid needs to beat one of Europe’s best teams in the first leg at the Allianz Arena to get to the final.
For Mbappé, the individual awards keep coming: he has scored 69 goals in 97 Champions League games, making him one of the fastest players in the competition’s history to reach every milestone. The records are going down. The question is whether his team can follow him all the way to Hungary or if history will be written without a trophy to go with it.
