Mbappe continued his scoring streak with a brace as Madrid routed 10-man Las Palmas 4-1 on Sunday (Monday AEDT), prompting a big ovation at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the France star who has struggled at times in his first season with the Spanish powerhouses.
"It's always a dream to get a standing ovation at this stadium," Mbappe said.
"I'm really happy, I've adapted to the team and I can play the way I want to. Everyone enjoys the team's game.
"All the Real Madrid players are leaders because it's the best team in the world. We have to be united because we have to win a lot of things. You always have to win at Real Madrid."
Kylian Mbappé Lottin.— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) #LaLigaHighlights | #RealMadridLasPalmas pic.twitter.com/4nKDjn1D5pJanuary 19, 2025
Mbappe has scored four goals in his past four matches with Madrid.
Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo also scored for Madrid on Sunday as they overtook Atletico Madrid to begin the second half of the league season.
Madrid are two points ahead of city rivals Atletico, who on Saturday saw their record 15-game winning streak end in a 1-0 loss to Leganes.
Madrid opened a seven-point lead over third-placed Barcelona, who drew 1-1 at Getafe on Saturday.
"It was an important match for us," Mbappe said.
"We knew what happened yesterday with Atletico's defeat and Barcelona's draw and we wanted to get the win.
"We started badly because we conceded an early goal, but the team's reaction was outstanding. We looked for space and played fast and with quality."
It was the second straight victory for Madrid after an embarrassing 5-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia on January 12.
When Rodrygo was fouled, Mbappe converted an 18th-minute penalty after the visitors had taken the lead through Fabio Silva one minute into the match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Diaz put Madrid ahead in the 33rd and Mbappe added his second in the 36th after an assist by Rodrygo.
Rodrygo then scored his third goal in three matches in the 57th minute.
Mbappe thought he'd scored a hat-trick near the end of the first half, but his goal was disallowed for offside. He also hit the woodwork in first-half stoppage time, while teammate Jude Bellingham also had a goal ruled out after video review in the second half.
Las Palmas, in 14th place and enduring a three-game losing streak across all competitions, then had Benito Ramirez sent off for a high kick in the 64th. He initially was shown a yellow card but video review determined it should be a red.
Defender David Alaba made his return to action after a long knee-injury lay-off in the 77th minute, having not played since December 2023.
Madrid made light of the absence of Vinicius Junior because of a suspension.
Earlier on Sunday, fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 at 13th-placed Celta Vigo, and ninth-placed Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 at 10th-placed Osasuna.
Valencia moved out of last place by beating Real Sociedad 1-0 at home for their first league win since November.
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