Kylian Mbappe Overtakes Cristiano Ronaldo With Brace in Champions League Defeat vs Benfica
- French international Kylian Mbappe has broken a UEFA Champions League record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo
- The former Paris Saint-Germain forward scored a brace in Los Blancos ' 4-2 defeat against Benfica on Wednesday, January 28
- Mbappe currently holds the new record following the conclusion of the league phase of the UEFA competition this season
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France international Kylian Mbappe delivered a stunning performance despite Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat to Benfica in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, January 28.
Mbappe scored a brace at the Estadio da Luz to surpass a milestone previously held by Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo, but his brilliance was not enough to prevent defeat.
The result pushed Los Blancos out of the top eight and into the playoff zone, adding further tension to an already dramatic encounter.
Source: Getty Images
Mbappe surpasses Ronaldo’s UCL record
Former Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the 30th minute, finishing a precise cross from Raul Asencio to give Real Madrid the lead.
Six minutes later, Benfica hit back on the counter as Andreas Schjelderup finished neatly to restore parity at the Estadio da Luz.
In the 45+5 minutes, the hosts were handed a major boost when Vangelis Pavlidis converted a penalty to put Benfica ahead.
Schjelderup then completed his brace in the 54th minute, giving the Portuguese side a commanding lead, per Al Jazeera.
Mbappe reignited Madrid’s hopes four minutes later, converting a clever pass from Arda Guler with a composed finish beyond the goalkeeper.
Real Madrid’s task became even harder in stoppage time as Raul Asencio and Rodrygo were both shown straight red cards, reducing the visitors to nine men.
In the 90+8 minute, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin found the back of the net to seal a famous victory for Benfica, per BBC.
Despite the loss, Mbappe etched his name into Champions League history. The Frenchman’s brace took his tally to 13 goals in the competition, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record of 11 goals from the 2015/16 group stage.
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Legit.ng compiled the reactions of fans following Mbappe's feat. Read them below:
Youssef Louadoudi said:
"Nice wording but let’s not play with history. Mbappe surpasses Ronaldo in the GROUP STAGE only.
"Cristiano Ronaldo still holds the ALL-TIME Champions League records for most goals in a single UCL season (17), all-time top scorer, most knockout goals and most finals goals.
"So yes, Mbappe is having a great run — but Cristiano remains the reference.
"Facts > propaganda."
Victoria Breyton Breydon Smith added:
"All the hate lmao his the goal machine no matter what ♥️."
Source: Getty Images
Mbappe reacts to defeat vs Benfica
Kylian Mbappe has expressed displeasure over Real Madrid's defeat to Benfica in their final group stage match of the UCL.
The French international said the home side played for their lives and got the result they deserved. He said:
"Today wasn’t a matter of tactics or quality. It was a matter of having more fighting spirit than the opponent. I saw Benfica play for their lives, and I didn’t see that from us.
"We can't keep being this inconsistent. We can't keep doing this 'day on, day off' thing, it’s not what champions do. The last goal we conceded was a disgrace for us. We are inconsistent."
Mbappe equals Ronaldo's record
Legit.ng earlier reported that French international Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid thrashed Monaco 6-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, January 20, to move within a point of sealing automatic qualification for the knockout rounds.
The 27-year-old has closed in on records set by Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina icon Lionel Messi.
Source: Legit.ng
