Mbappé
Kylian Mbappe moved into the company of Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez on Tuesday night, scoring his 71st Champions League goal as Real Madrid began their European campaign with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Mbappé needed only 14 minutes to make history, pouncing on an Inter defensive error to put Madrid ahead and draw level with Raul as the fifth-highest scorer in Champions League history.
It was a fitting moment for a player who has made the competition one of his favourite stages.
Mbappe arrived at the match having just received the award for finishing as the Champions League’s top scorer last season, when he struck 15 times. He followed that recognition by scoring in his first European appearance of the new campaign.
At 27, Mbappe has already scored 71 Champions League goals across spells with Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema have scored more.
Raul’s record had carried particular weight in Madrid. The former captain spent much of his illustrious career wearing the white shirt and established himself as one of the club’s defining figures in Europe.
Now, Mbappe has caught him.
Real Madrid’s victory gave the occasion an added gloss. Federico Valverde doubled the lead in the 23rd minute before Carlos Augusto pulled one back for Inter in the 77th. Madrid survived the late pressure to claim all three points.
For Mbappé, however, the night was about more than opening another Champions League campaign with a victory.
A player who once watched Europe’s biggest nights from a distance is steadily rewriting the competition’s record book himself.
Raul is no longer ahead of Mbappe. They are now on the same number.
