La Liga: Mbappe Compared With Ronaldo, Torres Scores Hat-trick

French superstar Mbappe is close to making history at Real Madrid, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, said his coach, Xabi Alonso, on Saturday.

After finishing last season in top form and starting the current campaign superbly, Mbappe has netted 55 goals with Real Madrid in 2025, and is just four away from matching the record of 59 set in 2013 by Ronaldo, as the club’s top scorer in a calendar year.

Mbappe has been increasingly compared with the all-time top Madrid goalscorer, Ronaldo, by the Spanish press for his growing influence and ability to rack up goals.

“Kylian is on his way to making history at Real Madrid like Cristiano did. Not just because of the importance he has in the team, but also because of the ambition he conveys and the number of goals he scores,” Alonso told a news conference.

“Kylian is one of the chosen ones. He has this desire within him not just to do things well, but also to have a positive influence on others. This is something he shares with Cristiano – this contagious ambition that inspires the rest of the team.”

Real Madrid will seek only a second top-flight win in five matches when they entertain Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday, an achievement that would see them close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to one point.

Torres Hat-trick

Ferran Torres hit a first-half hat-trick for Barcelona as they eased the woes on their travels with a 5-3 win in La Liga at Champions League chasing Real Betis.

The Spanish forward netted twice in the first 13 minutes of the game on Saturday – but not before the Seville-based hosts had opened the scoring through former Manchester United winger Antony.

Roony Bardghji slid home Barca’s third from just inside the box in the 31st minute.

Having netted with two close-range finishes early in the match, the second a well-executed volley, Torres then completed his hat-trick in the 40th minute with a deflected effort from outside the box.

Lamine Yamal appeared to have settled the match from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after Barca were controversially awarded the kick for handball.

Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford, a teammate of Antony’s for the entirety of the latter’s Old Trafford career, hit a drive from the edge of the box which struck the arm of Marc Bartra. Betis protested their man’s arm was tight to his body, which was struck first, but the referee was convinced, courtesy of a VAR intervention.

Betis had a sting in the tail still to come when Fernando Llorente pulled one back with five minutes to play, while Cucho Hernandez converted a penalty in the final minute of normal time.

Six minutes of added time, thereafter, was not enough for Betis to prize a tight finish and deny Barca their moment as they moved four points clear of Real Madrid

- Author: Kevin Hand, Al Jazeera