Kylian Mbappe bags his sixth brace of the season
Kylian Mbappé comes to the rescue once again for a deflated Real Madrid side, as the Frenchman saves Los Blancos from a potential scare against third-tier side Talavera. The 26-year-old French international was involved in all three goals, scoring a brace as well as forcing an own goal from Manuel Ferrando. Real Madrid will now await their Round of 16 opponents, with the draw set to be held in early January. Mbappé is currently chasing down Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most Real Madrid goals in a calendar year, and his double against Talavera leaves him needing just two goals to break the record.
Los Blancos scrape by Talavera
Although Real Madrid got the win and qualified for the next round, their performance was far from convincing tonight. There will be much concern around the Real Madrid camp, after they only scraped by third-division side Talavera. Madrid had a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime and seemed to have a strong hold on the game, as they continued to dominate for most of the second half. However, Talavera refused to go down without a fight, as they managed to nick one back in the 79th minute. Mbappé’s second goal then gave Madrid the two-goal cushion, as the Frenchman’s powerful strike slipped through the hands of Jaime. Talavera then had one final say, as their free-kick, which bounced off the post, fell to DiRenzo, who pulled one back for the Spanish minnows. Lunin then went on to pull of a heroic save at the death to deny Talavera an equalizer.
Alonso job still hangs in the balance
Xabi Alonso playing Mbappé for the full 90 minutes against a third-division side reflects how delicate his position as the Real Madrid manager is. Despite qualifying for the next round, Los Blancos’ performance tonight will not do much to help Xabi Alonso’s case in determining whether or not he continues on in the dugout. The Basque manager will need to beat Sevilla if he is to remain Real Madrid manager in the new year. Should Real Madrid win on Saturday and Barcelona lose to Villarreal on Sunday, they will reduce the gap to just one point at the top of La Liga. However, should the worst-case scenario unfold, Real Madrid could possibly fall seven points behind Barcelona, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the title race.
