Ronaldo celebrating for Real Madrid against Manchester United
Kylian Mbappe passed Ronaldo's debut season goal tally on Saturday
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe broke Brazil star Ronaldo's debut season goals record on Saturday - and celebrated with the trademark move of another Ronaldo.
Ronaldo Nazario, as he is also known, finished with 30 goals in all competitions after joining Los Blancos in 2002. With two months of the season yet to go, Mbappe is already on 31.
It's still only the fourth best debut season in club history, but the former Paris Saint-Germain star has top spot in his sights. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy are joint-second with 33 apiece - a figure the Portuguese Ronaldo would surpass in later seasons with the club - while former Chile star Ivan Zamorano leads the way with 37.
Mbappe reached 20 goals for the season with a brace against Villarreal, with another 11 in cup competitions. And he marked the occasion by replicating Cristiano Ronaldo's 'I'm here' celebration.
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Madrid needed Mbappe's goals to escape embarrassment on the road. Juan Foyth had opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, only for the Frenchman's brace to make it 2-1 to the visitors before the half hour mark.
That's how the game ended, ensuring Carlo Ancelotti's men were able to keep up the pressure on their title rivals. Second-place Barcelona take on third-place Atletico Madrid on Sunday evening, and anything other than a Barca win will ensure Mbappe and his team-mates end the weekend in top spot.
Mbappe's first came when he blasted home the rebound after a Brahim Diaz shot was saved, while the winner saw the French international start and finish a counter-attack. The brace saw him close to within a goal of Robert Lewandowski in the race to finish the season as La Liga's top scorer.
Will Kylian Mbappe break Ivan Zamorano's record? Have your say in the comments section
Kylian Mbappe celebrating against Villarreal
Mbappe recreated a famous Ronaldo celebration ( Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
"They are legends who have defined an era," Mbappe said after the march when asked about Ronaldo and Cristiano. "It’s important, but they are numbers.
"If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano, it doesn't mean I'm bigger, just that my first season is going better. The important thing is to help and win titles. Scoring goals is important, but even more so if we win the LaLiga, the Champions League and the Cup."
Mbappe was also part of the side which squeezed past Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek, and recognised the importance of following that penalty shoot-out win with another result. "After the match against Atlético, with extra time, it was very difficult but we had to win today," he said. "We had personality, desire to play and win. We fought and we’re coming home with the three points."
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