NOS Football•
After 59 goals in the past calendar year, Kylian Mbappé had to miss Real Madrid’s first match of the new year due to injury. It turned out to be no problem for the La Liga number 2, as Gonzalo García seized the rare opportunity with both hands.
The 21-year-old striker made a big impression by scoring with his head, right and left foot in the victory over Real Betis (5-1).
There are few doubts in Madrid about the potential of García. He has been scoring in the youth academy since he was ten years old, and last summer the Madrid-born showed up at the highest level. At the Club World Cup he was the top scorer of the tournament with four goals (in six matches).
Comparisons have already been cautiously made with illustrious predecessors such as Raúl González and Emilio Butragueño, self-trained top scorers from the club’s glory years. But with top scorer Mbappé ahead of him, playing minutes for García remained scarce. Trainer Xabi Alonso always expressed his confidence in García, who he considered very sensible, and – unlike the very expensive Endrick – always kept him in the selection.
Against Betis he got the chance to start again and after twenty minutes his first goal in the Spanish competition followed. With a great sense of timing he headed home from Rodrygo’s free kick: 1-0.
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Gonzalo Gloves to see a goal but Vinicius in Rodrygo -
García heads home from a difficult angle: 1-0
The home crowd became even more enthusiastic by the way García continued in the second half. He dropped the ball on his right shoe via the chest, with which he scored from outside the sixteen into the far corner: 2-0. In the final phase there was another highlight, when he tapped in with the left and behind the supporting leg to score 4-1.
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Mbappé watched it from the stands with a broad smile. The French superstar fits right in with the line of ‘Galacticos’ who preceded him in Madrid, but now saw the players from the often ignored youth academy shine. In addition to García’s hat trick, Raúl Asencio was also accurate.
In injury time, Fran García (no relation to Gonzalo), who was also self-trained, scored the final score: 5-1.
After the weekend, Real Madrid travels to Saudi Arabia, where the entire top four of last season will play for the Spanish Super Cup. Trainer Xabi Alonso expressed the hope this weekend that Mbappé may still be able to play in the mini-tournament in Jeddah.
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