Mbappé matches Ronaldo’s goal record as Sevilla win keeps title pressure on Barça

Kylian Mbappé marked his 27th birthday by equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid record of 59 goals in a calendar year, sealing a hard-fought victory over Sevilla that maintained the champions’ pursuit of La Liga leaders Barcelona, Sport360NG reports.

Real Madrid edged in front seven minutes before half-time when Jude Bellingham rose above Lucien Agoumé to guide a deft header into the top corner from Rodrygo’s well-delivered free-kick.

Sevilla threatened to respond and created chances either side of the interval, but their task became significantly more difficult shortly after the restart when Marcão was dismissed for a second bookable offence following a reckless challenge on Bellingham.

Mbappé, who had endured a largely frustrating evening, finally made the decisive contribution late on. The France forward converted confidently from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Rodrygo was brought down clumsily by Juanlu Sánchez, drawing level with Ronaldo’s tally from 2013.

Until that moment, Mbappé had struggled to impose himself. He failed to test Odysseas Vlachodimos in the first half and then shot straight at the Sevilla goalkeeper soon after the break. He later dragged a curling effort wide from a tight angle and saw a header rebound off the crossbar.

Sevilla remained a threat on the counter-attack, with Isaac Romero twice going close to an equaliser, only to be denied on both occasions by Thibaut Courtois.

Real were briefly awarded a second late penalty when Bellingham went down in the area, potentially offering Mbappé the chance to surpass Ronaldo’s record, but the decision was overturned following a Video Assistant Referee review.

The victory keeps Real firmly in the title race, while Mbappé’s landmark goal underlined his growing impact at the Santiago Bernabéu.