MADRID: Kylian Mba­ppe moved tantalisingly close to Cristiano Ronaldo’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’s last 16 after a pulsating encounter.

The French striker’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’s evening in front of a raucous crowd.

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.

With one match still to play this year — on Satu­rday against struggling Sevilla in La Liga at Santiago Bernabeu — the French forward could surpass the Portuguese great.

Talavera may be only 100km from the Spanish capital but their modest 6,000-capacity Estadio El Prado is a world away from Real’s Bernabeu fortress. Yet Alonso’s 20-time Cup winners only narrowly avoi­ded a potential banana skin.

In front of 4,000 passionate supporters, Real dominated the early stages, with young talents Endrick, Arda Guler and Gonzalo Garcia combining well alongside Mbappe.

However, they were repeatedly thwarted by Tal­a­vera’s inspired goalkeeper Jaime Gonzalez.

With Alonso resting first-choice stars, including Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellin­gham and Thibaut Cour­tois, Real looked to Mbappe for inspiration.

Fran Garcia’s header was denied by a brilliant goal-line clearance from Alvaro Lopez in the 39th minute, but controversy followed seconds later.

Referee Guillermo Cua­dra penalised the hosts’ Marcos Moreno for handball after what appeared to be contact created by Real’s Alvaro Carreras during a tussle in the box.

With no VAR until the Copa del Rey’s last 16, the decision stood, and Mbappe converted the penalty in the 41st minute to move closer to Ronaldo’s tally.

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’s goal, handing the visitors a 2-0 advantage at the break.

Real 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.

Talavera punished Real 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.

The hosts sensed an up­set, but they were und­one by a goalkeeping error late on. Mbappe’s tame shot from outside the box in the 83rd minute was fumbled by Gonzalez, with the ball bobbling into the net to rest­ore Real’s two-goal cushion.

A determined Talavera pulled one back again in the 91st minute when Di Ren­­zo reacted first to a rebound after Isaiah Navarro’s strike smacked the post.

Real keeper Andriy Lun­in then preserved Madrid’s lead with an exceptional save in the dying moments, denying Navarro from close range as the underdogs pushed for a dramatic equaliser.

Elsewhere on Wedne­sday, Antoine Griezmann inspired Atletico Madrid to a 3-2 victory at fourth-tier Atletico Baleares.

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’s advantage, head­­­i­ng in Nahuel Molina’s cross.

Baleares responded thro­ugh Gerardo Bonet but Griezmann’s second-half strike from Javi Galan’s delivery restored their cushion before a late push from the hosts.

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.

High-flying La Liga outfit Villarreal came unstuck 2-1 at second-tier Racing Santander.

Aanother second-division club Albacete celebra­ted knocking out La Liga’s Celta Vigo 3-0 on penalties after the two sides were locked together 2-2 after extra time.

Another La Liga side Osa­s­una needed extra time to see off second-tier Huesca 4-2.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025