Kylian Mbappe’s fine Champions League hat-trick in Tuesday’s win over Barcelona continued the Paris St Germain forward’s record of outscoring Lionel Messi at his current age.
The 22-year-old was in scintillating form as PSG left the Nou Camp with a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
Mbappe’s goals helped turn the game around following Messi’s opener from the penalty spot – leaving the Barca captain trudging off the pitch at the full-time whistle.
Messi may also be dejected if he saw the statistics which show he scored 58 fewer goals than Mbappe by the time he turned 23.
Mbappe has now hit 24 goals in European football, compared to just 17 for Messi at the same age.
The trend continues in their respective domestic competitions – Mbappe now just four short of 100 goals in Ligue 1, while Messi had struck 54 for Barcelona in LaLiga.
Messi’s nine domestic cup goals has been doubled by Mbappe – but the 2018 World Cup winner will be wary of how much he will need to step up his goalscoring to keep up that record in the coming years.
Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi’s record after reaching Mbappe’s current age back in August 2009 is nothing short of outstanding.
His goals in LaLiga alone for the next four seasons were 23, 34, 31 and 50 as he fully established himself as the crown jewel in a fine Barcelona team.
Tuesday night’s hat-trick may have been Mbappe’s latest headline-grabbing achievement but continuing to surpass Messi’s record-breaking tally will be a tough task.
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