December 10: The moment Kylian Mbappe truly understood his role at Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

“I believe that was the turning point in his season. From that moment on, he became a completely different player.”
Kylian Mbappe had his defining UEFA Champions League performance in Real Madrid colours. A dominant, high-quality hat-trick left Manchester City defeated on Wednesday night.
It seemed almost inevitable that Mbappe would rise to the occasion at the Santiago Bernabeu, inevitably drawing comparisons to his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, who made the Champions League his domain during a golden era between 2014 and 2018, securing four titles for Madrid.
However, earlier in the season, the discussions surrounding Mbappe were quite different. The 26-year-old openly admitted feeling at his lowest after missing a penalty against Athletic Club in La Liga.
Just a week before, Mbappe had also missed a penalty in the Champions League against Liverpool, leaving him dejected as his team fell to a 2-0 defeat.
“They needed him to step up, but he didn’t deliver,” said one analysis after the loss to Arne Slot’s team. “That was his moment, yet he didn’t come through when it mattered.”
So, how did Mbappe transform from that low point to the thrilling triumph over City?
Julien Laurens, an expert and long-time observer of Mbappe’s career, recently pinpointed the moment that marked the shift.
“The fact that he spoke openly to a French TV show [in late November] really helped him release some of the pressure,” Laurens shared with TNT Sports.
“From that point, he was a different player. Talking about everything that had gone wrong at the start of the season helped him process it. Then, there was the game against Atalanta [on December 10], where he scored a brilliant goal. He got slightly injured and had to come off, but I felt that was the turning point in his season.”
Since that game against Atalanta, Mbappe’s goals-per-game ratio has nearly doubled, helping turn Madrid into the powerful team we saw against City.
What does Mbappe believe contributed to his resurgence?
“In my view, the issue was that I was overthinking things,” he explained late last month.
“You could see it in my play. While adjusting to the team, I was constantly thinking about how to do everything, where to move, should I shift more to the left, would I intrude on Vini’s space, or Rodrygo’s area? Overthinking every little detail. When I do that, my game suffers.”
Mbappe ‘can reach Ronaldo’s level’
After witnessing Mbappe shine in the second leg, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was prompted to draw a comparison between him and Ronaldo.
“He [Mbappe] has the potential to reach Cristiano’s level,” said Ancelotti.
“He needs to keep working, because Cristiano has set an incredibly high bar. Mbappe has just begun his journey here. But with his quality and enthusiasm, he has the potential to reach Ronaldo’s level. It won’t be easy, but he can get there.”
Mbappe has already surpassed Ronaldo in reaching 500 career goal contributions at a younger age, but what other records set by the Portuguese could he now target?
With potentially a decade or more ahead at the highest level, it wouldn’t be surprising if Mbappe makes even more history in the Champions League.