As early as Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé made it to the list of the top six all-time Champions League goalscorers after he scored twice for Real Madrid in a 2-1 victory over Marseille.
At the Santiago Bernabéu the 26-year-old forward scored twice from the penalty spot making sure that Xabi Alonso’s first game in the Champions League as Los Blancos manager was a win. With his two goals, he reached 57 goals in the competition, overtaking Ruud van Nistelrooy, a player of the Netherlands, who was at 56, and tying up with Thomas Müller of Bayern Munich in the sixth position. Astonishingly, Mbappé has done that in just 88 outings.
Frenchman won’t be able to catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (129), and Robert Lewandowski (105) right away, but given how fast he is, it would appear as if it is very likely that one day he will be right there with them. If he scores one more goal, he will be sharing the sixth spot with Müller no longer a situation, but with Real Madrid fans assuming that he will continue writing history they are reluctant to believe that he has already done his last one.
The victory on Tuesday was not a walk in the park at all. Real Madrid were subject to fight hard for a win against a determined Marseille with their two right-back leaving the pitch prematurely, Trent Alexander-Arnold left the pitch with an injured hamstring, and Dani Carvajal got a straight red card.
Still, Mbappé’s calmness and accuracy from the spot proved to be the winning factor for him, stamping out doubts about his metamorphosis into Madrid’s hero.
The coming of the Frenchman from Paris Saint-Germain has not limited his scoring rate which stands at 50 goals accumulated in 64 appearances for the Spanish giants. He also is the Madrid leader this season, scoring six times in five games, which is an impressive way to 2025-26 start.
By the way, Van Nistelrooy got his 56 goals in just 73 matches, but Mbappé’s youth and career path make him absolutely prepared to follow the players above him. His Champions League saga has only just started.