Olympiacos 3-4 Real Madrid: Xabi Alonso’s side stutter but Mbappe genius on hand to save the night
Kylian Mbappe produced a ruthless individual display to haul Real Madrid back from an early deficit and secure a dramatic 4-3 Champions League win away to Olympiacos on Wednesday night.
Madrid were behind inside eight minutes in Piraeus when Chiquinho swept home after a bright opening spell from the hosts. What followed was a reminder of how Mbappe’s genius, and how quickly he can change games when he gets the space.
Between the 22nd and 29th minutes, the France forward scored three times in seven minutes to completely flip the contest.
Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has ever scored a faster hat-trick in the Champions League, with his performance against Rangers in 2022.
Mbappe’s first came when Vinicius Junior lifted a pass over the top for Mbappe to dispatch. Two minutes later he headed in from Arda Guler’s cross, before running through again to beat the goalkeeper and complete the treble before the half-hour mark.
Olympiacos had been stunned senseless and only managed to recover their initial threat in the second half. Substitute Mehdi Taremi headed in from a cross to bring the score to 3-2, but Mbappe struck again on the hour, poking home from close range after good work from Vinicius down the left.
The home side refused to fold. Ayoub El Kaabi headed in with nine minutes to play and came close again after. Madrid held on.
