Kylian Mbappé starred in Real Madrid’s Matchday 7 clash against AS Monaco in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League, leading the way with a brace on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu. With the two goals, the French forward not only moved past Lionel Messi’s best first-phase tally, but also matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s historic scoring mark in the opening phase of the competition.
There were questions surrounding Mbappé’s availability after concerns over his knee recovery raised doubts about his involvement against Levante and Monaco. However, the Frenchman featured in both matches and, against his former club, delivered two clinical finishes, the first assisted by Federico Valverde in the fifth minute and the second set up by Vinícius Júnior in the 26th, to complete a brace that will be remembered in Champions League history.
With the two goals against Monaco, Mbappé has now reached 11 goals in the first phase of the Champions League in just six appearances. That mark had previously been achieved only once, when Cristiano Ronaldo reached the same total with Real Madrid during the 2015–16 group stage, leaving the two stars tied at the top of the list.
The key distinction between Mbappé’s achievement and Ronaldo’s record lies in the competition’s revamped format, which expanded the first phase from a traditional group stage into a league-style system with more fixtures. Still, the feat remains remarkable, as Mbappé missed the previous match against Manchester City, meaning he reached the 11-goal mark in the same six-game span as the Portuguese icon.
Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid celebrates with Vinicius Junior.
Mbappé’s opening goal also placed him among the exclusive group of players to score at least 10 goals in the Champions League’s first phase, joining Sebastian Haller (2021–22), Robert Lewandowski (2019–20), and Lionel Messi (2016–17). With his brace, however, Mbappé surpassed all three, reaching a level that only Ronaldo had previously attained in the competition.
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During the 2015-16 Champions League group stage, Ronaldo faced Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Malmö, failing to score against PSG but exploding for five goals against Shakhtar and six against Malmö across home-and-away fixtures. While the current Champions League format no longer allows teams to face the same opponent twice in the first phase, the record remains within reach.
Mbappé still has one match remaining in the league phase, scheduled for January 28 against José Mourinho’s Benfica at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. One more goal would be enough for the French star to stand alone as the highest scorer in a Champions League first phase, albeit with the caveat of having played one additional match compared to Ronaldo’s six.
