At 11:35 p.m. local time in his new home of Spain, Kylian Mbappé took to his social media to express both joy and fury with a passionate “HALA MADRID” followed by four white heart emojis. The 25-year-old’s post featured four snapshots from key moments of his match against Celta.

Within seconds, his own teammates responded. “What a goal,” Vinicius replied, while Luka Modric, another key player in the match, commented, “Golazoooo.”

Developing: Mbappé, Vinicius, Bellingham

The Frenchman, about whom manager Carlo Ancelotti had said in his pre-match press conference that he was “almost at 100%,” certainly proved it during the 82 minutes he spent on the pitch at Balaídos. Mbappé looked more fluid, with better chemistry with Vinicius (still building with Bellingham), and demonstrated the power of his right foot 20 minutes into the game.

A mistake by Fran Beltrán while trying to clear the ball led Camavinga to make a crucial touch, and the ball landed at Kylian’s feet. He controlled it, turned 45 degrees, and unleashed an unstoppable strike past Guaita. It was his sixth goal in LaLiga and his eighth of the season across all competitions (he has already scored in three of the seven competitions Madrid will participate in this season). Slowly but surely, he is approaching his usual numbers.

Goals coming for Mbappé

He is 13 goals away from matching his lowest-scoring season: the 2017-18 campaign, his first with PSG, when he netted 21 goals in 44 appearances (an average of 0.47 goals per game). In every other season, he exceeded 25 goals on average. In the 2016-17 season with Monaco, already a key first-team player, he scored 26 goals in 44 matches (across all competitions).

After that, he surpassed 30 goals in the following seasons. His best performance came last season, scoring 44 goals (his highest-ever tally) in 48 games. In three campaigns with PSG, he surpassed the 40-goal mark, and in three others, he hit the 30-goal range (in two of those, 2018-19 and 2021-22, he reached 39 goals).

So far, the Frenchman has scored eight goals in 12 matches, averaging 0.6 goals per game. If he maintains this pace, the Frenchman would finish the season with 48 goals, assuming Los Blancos play the 72 matches they are expected to contest across seven competitions this season. This figure is quite close to what Mbappé reportedly told directors, coaching staff, and teammates during his early preseason days: “I’m going to score 50 goals.”

The challenge is enormous, but with hard work and determination, Kylian is gradually getting closer to his best form. Ancelotti confirmed this last Friday: “He used the break to improve his fitness and recover from his injury. He’s in great shape, happy, and eager to play and be important for the team. These 15 days have helped him a lot; he’s a different player now than he was before the break.” Against Celta, Mbappé began to show that this mini-preseason has done wonders for him.