Real Madrid ended 2025 on a high as Kylian Mbappé entered the history books by equaling a Cristiano Ronaldo record of 59 goals in a calendar year in a 2-0 win over Sevilla as Jude Bellingham headed in and Mbappé scored from the penalty spot.
Three answers
1. Would any squad players be rewarded for their role in the Copa del Rey in midweek?
The win against Talavera de la Reina on Wednesday was not one that produced too many positives for Madridistas, but there were impressive displays from reserves like Endrick,
David Jiménez, Dani Ceballos and Gonzalo García. With the injury list still lengthy, albeit recovering David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga for this game, there was a chance that they could come into contention, but Xabi Alonso didn’t have any room for sentiment and opted for experience and his preferred usuals wherever possible. The big question mark was at right-back, where Jiménez filled in well in a role where Raúl Asencio had struggled and Fede Valverde was absent with injury. Alonso chose to revert to Asencio in the position again, despite the struggles and lacklustre contribution he offered offensively in that same role against Celta Vigo.
2. Could Real Madrid’s excellent record against Sevilla continue?
Los Blancos were 13 games unbeaten against Sevilla heading into this game, at a venue where Sevilla haven’t won since Xabi Alonso was on the field playing in a line-up alongside the likes of Raúl and Guti, back in 2009. Sevilla spent a lot of the 16 years to follow as one of La Liga’s strongest teams, as shown by their Europa League triumphs. Now, they are at their lowest ebb in that period, with chaos off the field impacting matters on it as their thin squad has been hit by injury. The 2-0 result continued that run, and kept Real Madrid on a temporary high heading into the holiday season.
3. Would this be the last we see of Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid coach?
Speculation has been ongoing surrounding Alonso’s role for several weeks now, and he’s continually bought himself more time with a run of wins in recent weeks when it had been reported that any slip ups would cost him his job. In none of these games has Alonso got his team playing well or looking like a better team. With the winter break now upon us, there’s a two week period before Real Betis visit the Bernabéu in January. If Florentino Pérez and company feel that a change needs to be made, then there will be no better time to do it this season than during a break to give a new man a chance to implement his ideas and get to know his players.
Three questions
1. Will Kylian Mbappé ever be able to beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s calendar year record?
One of the key topics to watch going into this game was Kylian Mbappé’s mission to equal, or surpass, Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year which he set in 2013. When he slogged his penalty to the right of Odysseas Vlachodimos, he celebrated in style by recreating CR7’s celebration as he equaled his record of 59 goals in 12 months in what remains his first full calendar year as a Real Madrid player. Moments later, he thought he could beat it as he held the ball in his hands ahead of a second penalty, but VAR intervened. Mbappé recorded a total of seven shots from open play, including three on target. It wasn’t his best day at the office, he’s scored far more with far less than the 0.64 xG he recorded. But it also puts his 59 goals this year into perspective. Rarely in a player’s career are they fit enough to play enough minutes to even dream of scoring that many goals as Mbappé has, playing almost every minute. That’s why the chances of him ever beating CR7’s record rely almost more heavily on his physical fitness than on his form in front of goal, and to endure such physical strain every 12 months is likely to push his body to the limit.
2. Is Rodrygo a starter again?
Real Madrid’s biggest positive of the past few weeks has been the phoenix-from-the-ashes style resurrection of Rodrygo Goes’ form. After 9 months without scoring and without a league assist since January, the Brazilian has come up trumps with two goals in as many games against Manchester City and Alavés, before now starting again against Sevilla and providing the pinpoint free-kick for Jude Bellingham to head in and then winning the penalty for Mbappé to make it two. Rodrygo has looked full of confidence again, taking players on and gambling with his runs and passes. With a return to a 4-2-3-1 formation, and with Brahim Díaz on international duty with Morocco and Franco Mastantuono leaving more doubts than solutions, it would seem that he has got a nailed-down place in the starting line-up for the foreseeable future.
3. Will the winter break change much for Real Madrid?
Regardless of potential managerial changes, the feeling around the Bernabéu seemed to be one of relief that the team has made it to the winter break. Two weeks without any action will allow the squad to rest for the first time since the early-November international break, and the longest period of rest since a short interval between the Club World Cup and the start of the domestic season in July and August. That will also mean that there could be some players recovering from injury, including the likes of Fede Valverde and Dani Carvajal who weren’t included here, but also Ferland Mendy, David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga, who returned to the squad after being sidelined in recent weeks. That alone could make a big difference to how the team lines up and the strength of depth available to pursue results. The need to call upon youngsters from Castilla to fill in will hopefully be a thing of the past. It also comes with Real Madrid very much still in the title race. Even if Barcelona become the first side to win at the Estadio de la Cerámica this season in LaLiga against Villarreal, the gap at the top of the table will only be four points. That is an amount that can be recovered.
