November 26, (THEWILL) — Kylian Mbappe fired four goals in a thrilling UEFA Champions League encounter that saw Real Madrid edge past Olympiacos 4-3 in Athens on Wednesday. The French forward netted three times within seven minutes during a remarkable first-half showing at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
Olympiacos took an early lead through Chiquinho’s eighth-minute strike, which found the bottom-left corner following fluid build-up play. Mbappe equalised with a driven finish from Vinicius Junior’s pass, then headed home Arda Guler’s right-wing delivery before completing his hat-trick in the 29th minute after Eduardo Camavinga carved open the Greek defence.
Vinicius had a goal disallowed before half-time after officials deemed Mbappe offside in the build-up, whilst Aurelien Tchouameni struck the woodwork. Mehdi Taremi pulled one back six minutes after the interval with a powerful header from Santiago Hezze’s cross, but Mbappe added his fourth on the hour mark.
Ayoub El Kaabi’s 81st-minute header from Gabriel Strefezza’s centre set up a nervy conclusion for the visitors. The Olympiacos striker sent another effort narrowly off target, and Strefezza appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty following contact with Tchouameni in the closing stages.
The victory lifts Madrid to fifth in the UCL standings after a pulsating contest that tested Xavi Alonso’s side defensively despite their attacking brilliance.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
