‘Perfect night for Real’

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe (centre) shoots to score his third goal during the Champions League match against Man City in Madrid on Wednesday

Kylian Mbappe was celebrating a ‘perfect night' with Real Madrid - one that included his third Champions League hat-trick and his club securing a spot in the round of 16 to keep alive its hopes of winning a record 16th European title.

With a pair of goals in the first half and another in the second, Mbappe led Madrid to a comfortable 3-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday. The Spanish powerhouse advanced 6-3 on aggregate after a 3-2 first-leg win in England.

"This was a perfect night,¿ Mbappé said. "We wanted to win and this was how to do it. We gave everything in front of our home fans and we won because we produced a great performance against City, who are always difficult to play."

Mbappe celebrates his hat-trick. Pics/Getty Images

Mbappe joined Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski on the list of players with two hat-tricks in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo has four. Mbappe's other hat tricks came with Paris Saint-Germain against Barcelona in 2021 and in the group stage against Club Brugge in 2019. "Mbappe has the quality to match Cristiano's numbers, but he has to work a lot because Cristiano has set the bar very high," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

Madrid player Jude Bellingham added: "Mbappe is very special and he never stops proving it. He's a better person than a player and we're going to benefit from his goals."

The France star said it was one of his best games since he joined Madrid this season. "Whether this was my best game for Madrid or not, I'm not the best person to analyse. Better that somebody else decides. I'm here to play and to perform on the pitch. I would categorize this as a great team performance," said Mbappe, adding that he would rather see Madrid face city rival Atletico Madrid instead of Bayer Leverkusen in the next round (draw will be made on Friday).

Mbappe broke the deadlock with a lob in the fourth minute and netted a fine second after combining with his attacking partners. He completed his treble in the second half with a low strike from the edge of the box to reach seven goals in the competition this season in 10 appearances.

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