MADRID: French superstar Kylian 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 set in 2013 by Ronaldo of 59, as the club’s top scorer in a calendar year.
Mbappe has been increasingly compared to 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.”
Winning the European Golden Shoe and La Liga’s top scorer award last season with 31 goals, Mbappe is currently operating at an even higher level, with 16 goals scored in 15 matches played, and nine in five Champions League games.
As a child Mbappe admitted he had posters of Ronaldo on his bedroom walls and he can take a step closer to Ronaldo’s record when Celta Vigo visit the Bernabeu on Sunday in La Liga.
Real Madrid face Erling Haaland’s Manchester City in the Champions League on December 10 before league games against Alaves and Sevilla, giving Mbappe four matches to catch Ronaldo.
Portugal international Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Real Madrid, with Mbappe currently on 69 goals in 79 games since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024.
’Chosen’ Mbappe on way to making Real Madrid history like Ronaldo: Alonso
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’Chosen’ Mbappe on way to making Real Madrid history like Ronaldo: Alonso
- Mbappe has been increasingly compared to all-time top Madrid goalscorer Ronaldo by the Spanish press
- “Kylian is on his way to making history at Real Madrid like Cristiano did,” Alonso told a news conference
Alcaraz powers into Indian Wells quarter-finals
- Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2
World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(2) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.
The Spaniard relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.
Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.
“The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
“My first set was incredible I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level on the next round.”
Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year’s Paris Masters.
SWIATEK, PEGULA THROUGH
World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.
“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” Swiatek said.
“I love playing here ... It’s a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end.”
Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.
American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.
Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set — her first ever against the Swiss — before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.
Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month’s Dubai Open.
