Kylian Mbappe vs Cristiano Ronaldo vs Zinedine Zidane and others: How many matches did Real Madrid ‘Galacticos’ take to score first league goal?

Kylian Mbappe vs Cristiano Ronaldo vs Zinedine Zidane and others: How many matches did Real Madrid ‘Galacticos’ take to score first league goal?

Following Zinedine Zidane’s era in the 2000s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s era in the 2010s, Kylian Mbappe’s era has begun at Real Madrid. The exciting striker notably scored on his debut for the Spanish giants during their UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta.

However, goals have been hard to come by in La Liga for the French World Cup winner. It has raised enough concerns in the press, with Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti having to openly discuss the Frenchman’s struggles in the final third.

Three games into the La Liga season, Real Madrid had won only one match, drawing 1-1 against Mallorca and Las Palmas. In all three games, Mbappe failed to score a single goal. However, in their home game against Real Betis on September 1, he scored two goals to help his side pick up all three points.

This was a bit similar to Zinedine Zidane, who scored his first goal for Real Madrid in his third league appearance for the club. The former France international notably scored against Real Betis as well, 20 years ago in September 2001.

Cristiano Ronaldo also made his mark in his La Liga debut against Deportivo La Coruna in August 2009. Gareth Bale followed suit against Villareal in September 2013. Ronaldo remarkably scored a mind-boggling 311 goals in 292 La Liga games. Unlike Kylian Mbappe, Ronaldo started with blistering brilliance, scoring five goals in his first four appearances for the club.

Mbappe’s teammate Jude Bellingham had a similar start to life at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring five goals in his first four games.

Kylian Mbappe failed to score on his La Liga debut but he will be one of the few attacking Galacticos to have missed that mark (via AS). Luis Figo scored on his La Liga debut against Valencia in September 2000 before David Beckham also achieved this feat against Real Betis in August 2003.

It has taken Kylian Mbappe four La Liga games to make his mark despite doing so with two goals. He will be hoping he finds some goalscoring form to light up La Liga moving forward.

Kylian Mbappe talks about being Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor at Real Madrid

If Kylian Mbappe is to fit into Cristiano Ronaldo’s shoes at Real Madrid, he has a lot of catching up to do. The Portuguese icon was easily in his prime at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning four Ballons d’Or while leading them to win four UEFA Champions League trophies.

While Los Blancos easily remain the biggest club in the world, they have yet to find a successor for Ronaldo. It is worth noting that Mbappe has openly viewed the Portuguese legend as his idol, placing expectations on him to take over the baton.

However, the French forward has stated he will not be pressured by such expectations. He said (via The Real Champs):

“Cristiano is my idol but I don’t think about the pressure of being his successor. I want to be Kylian, the only pressure I want is about me and the team.”

Real Madrid will return to action in an away clash against Real Sociedad after the international break on September 15.