{"id":21299,"date":"2025-12-18T10:09:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T08:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/mbappe-edges-closer-to-ronaldo-record-as-real-survive-copa-del-rey-test\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:32:24","slug":"mbappe-edges-closer-to-ronaldo-record-as-real-survive-copa-del-rey-test","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/mbappe-edges-closer-to-ronaldo-record-as-real-survive-copa-del-rey-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Mbappe edges closer to Ronaldo record as Real survive Copa del Rey test"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Kylian Mbappe moved tantalisingly close to Cristiano Ronaldo&#8217;s calendar-year scoring record for Real Madrid with a brace as they earned a 3-2 victory at third-tier Talavera de la Reina on Wednesday to reach the Copa del Rey&#8217;s last 16 after a pulsating encounter.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The French striker&#8217;s two goals, combined with an own-goal by defender Manuel Farrando, proved enough despite strikes from Nahuel Arroyo and Gonzalo Di Renzo that threatened to spoil Real&#8217;s evening in front of a raucous crowd.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Mbappe, who came into the game with 56 goals scored in all competitions in 2025, is now one goal shy of the 59-goal calendar-year record set by Ronaldo in 2013.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With one match still to play this year on Saturday against struggling Sevilla in LaLiga at Santiago Bernabeu &#8211; the French forward could surpass the Portuguese great.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In front of 4 000 passionate supporters in Castilla-La Mancha, Real Madrid dominated the early stages, with young talents Endrick, Arda Guler and Gonzalo Garcia combining well alongside Mbappe. However, they were repeatedly thwarted by Talavera&#8217;s inspired goalkeeper Jaime Gonzalez.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With coach Xabi Alonso resting first-choice stars, including Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois, Madrid looked to Mbappe for inspiration.<\/div>\n<div>Fran Garcia&#8217;s header was denied by a brilliant goal-line clearance from Alvaro Lopez in the 39th minute, but controversy followed seconds later.<\/div>\n<div>Referee Guillermo Cuadra penalised the hosts&#8217; Marcos Moreno for handball after what appeared to be contact created by Madrid&#8217;s Alvaro Carreras during a tussle in the box.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With no VAR until the Copa del Rey&#8217;s last 16, the decision stood, and Mbappe converted the penalty in the 41st minute to move closer to Ronaldo&#8217;s tally.<\/div>\n<div>Before halftime, Mbappe helped Real find the net again, this time with a slice of fortune. His effort from close range deflected off defender Farrando and into Talavera&#8217;s goal, handing the visitors a 2-0 advantage at the break.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Madrid squandered several opportunities to extend their lead in the second half, with Mbappe missing a clear one-on-one chance in the 52nd minute before Gonzalez stopped a fierce long-range drive.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Talavera punished Madrid for their profligacy in the 80th minute when Farrando engineered a quick counter-attack, delivering a perfect low cross to Arroyo, who rifled a powerful strike past Andriy Lunin to make it 2-1.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The hosts sensed an upset, but they were undone by a goalkeeping error late on. Mbappe&#8217;s tame shot from outside the box in the 83rd minute was fumbled by Gonzalez, with the ball bobbling into the net to restore Madrid&#8217;s two-goal cushion.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A determined Talavera pulled one back again in the 91st minute when Di Renzo reacted first to a rebound after Isaiah Navarro&#8217;s strike smacked the post.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Real keeper Andriy Lunin then preserved Madrid&#8217;s lead with an exceptional save in the dying moments, denying Navarro from close range as the underdogs pushed for a dramatic equaliser.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Elsewhere on Wednesday, Antoine Griezmann inspired Atletico Madrid to a 3-2 victory at fourth-tier Atletico Baleares.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Griezmann opened the scoring in the 16th minute after neat link-up play with Thiago Almada and Conor Gallagher. Minutes later, Giacomo Raspadori doubled Atleti&#8217;s advantage, heading in Nahuel Molina&#8217;s cross.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Baleares responded through Gerardo Bonet but Griezmann&#8217;s second-half strike from Javi Galan&#8217;s delivery restored their cushion before a late push from the hosts.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Jaume Tovar missed a penalty for Baleares before Mouhamadou Keita converted from the spot in the 90th minute to set up a nervy finale for the visitors.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":20563,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-21299","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Madrid squandered several opportunities to extend their lead in the second half.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Madrid squandered several opportunities to extend their lead in the second half.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25023,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21299\/revisions\/25023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=21299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}