Mbappé Hits Four as Real Madrid Survive Wild Olympiacos Shootout in Athens
Kylian Mbappé tore Olympiacos to shreds with a four-goal masterclass as Real Madrid scraped a chaotic 4–3 win in Greece, ending their winless run and dragging themselves back into the Champions League frame. Madrid was missing half a defence and their No 1 keeper, but the French superstar didn’t bother waiting for anyone — he simply took over the entire night.
Olympiacos stunned the visitors early when Francisco Chiquinho smashed in a 20-yard belter, the sort of goal that gets the home crowd roaring and Madrid fans muttering. But then Mbappé decided enough was enough. Three goals in seven ridiculous minutes — the second-fastest Champions League hat-trick ever — turned the whole tie on its head.
His first was classic Mbappé: bursting onto Vinícius Jr’s perfect slide-rule pass and finishing with ice in his veins. The second? A clever header from Arda Güler’s cross. Then he beat the offside trap again to complete his hat-trick from Eduardo Camavinga’s through-ball. Olympiacos barely had time to blink between them.
Real thought they had a fourth when Mbappé slipped in Vinícius to score, only for VAR to spoil the party with an offside call. Aurélien Tchouameni later cracked the bar as Madrid continued to pour forward, despite having a patched-up back line that looked like it was held together with tape and hope.
Inevitably, Olympiacos fought back. Mehdi Taremi powered in a header to make it interesting, only for Mbappé to pop up again — a close-range stab from another Vinícius assist. Four goals, six shots. Ruthless doesn’t even cover it. Still the drama wasn’t done, as Ayoub El Kaabi’s late header dragged the Greeks back within touching distance, but Madrid held on for a vital win — their first competitive victory in Athens at the 10th time of asking.
The result lifts Real to fifth in the standings, three points behind leaders Arsenal. Olympiacos, sitting 33rd with just two points, could at least cling to the chaos they caused.
Mbappé, though, stole the night and the headlines. Top scorer in the Champions League this season with nine in five, already into his best-ever haul in the competition, and up to 22 goals in 18 games for Madrid. And this, somehow, ended what was technically a three-game “drought”.
“I feel good, I’m very happy,” he said afterwards, almost understating the carnage he’d just created. “Scoring goals is always a pleasure. My team-mates give me great passes.”
It was the fourth time in his career he’s hit four or more in a match, and he racked up a pile of new records along the way: only the third player ever to net a hat-trick inside 29 minutes, the second quickest treble in Champions League history, the most away hat-tricks in European Cup history (four), and the first Real Madrid player to score four in a European away game.
And Madrid needed every last one of them. With defenders dropping like flies and the back line creaking, Mbappé dragged them through the storm. If this is what he produces on an “off month”, the rest of Europe won’t be sleeping easy.