Kylian Mbappé delivered his fourth Champions League hat-trick as Real Madrid dominated Kairat Almaty with a commanding 5-0 victory on Tuesday.
Following a heavy 5-2 loss to Atlético Madrid on Sunday, Xabi Alonso’s squad faced the challenge of recovering quickly, undertaking a grueling 13-hour journey to Kazakhstan. Despite the fatigue, Madrid bounced back emphatically.
Alonso rotated his lineup extensively but retained Mbappé as the spearhead of the offense. The French star responded brilliantly, opening the scoring with a penalty in the first half and adding two exquisite goals after the interval. Late strikes from substitutes Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Díaz sealed the emphatic win, marking Madrid’s perfect start in European competition this season.
With Dani Carvajal sidelined due to injury, Vinícius Júnior captained the team and nearly broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, though his delicate chip sailed just wide.
According to ESPN, Arda Güler came close shortly after with a shot that was deflected off target, and Mbappé’s curling effort was expertly denied by Kairat’s goalkeeper Sherkhan Kalmurza.
Kalmurza’s misjudgment soon proved costly when he mishandled a back pass from Egor Sorokin, resulting in a foul on Franco Mastantuono inside the penalty box.
This error granted Mbappé the opportunity to convert his third consecutive penalty in the Champions League-having scored two penalties in Madrid’s opener against Marseille-and he confidently slotted home from the spot to put Madrid ahead 1-0 after 25 minutes.
Güler tested Kalmurza again with a long-range strike that the keeper could only parry, while Mastantuono’s subsequent attempt narrowly missed after a slight deflection.
Kairat showed some attacking spark towards the end of the first half, but Valeri Gromyko squandered a promising chance with an inaccurate shot from outside the box seven minutes before halftime.
Madrid’s manager must have been eager for a second goal early in the second half, and Mbappé delivered in the 52nd minute with a sublime chipped finish following a long clearance from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
