Real Madrid Almost Make a Mess of Kylian Mbappe's Historic Champions League Night

Another dreadful, uninspired opening from Real Madrid on Wednesday evening was briefly forgotten when Kylian Mbappé rifled a sensational right-footed strike from distance into the back of the net. The Frenchman burned his marker with a clever spin and then was headed toward goal as four players in red converged around him.

Instead of taking on his defenders or dribbling into the box, Mbappé tried his luck from 25 yards out and saw his shot loop over the outstretched hand of Roma goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini. A deflection along the way helped the ball find its end target, but no one in white-least of all Mbappé-cared.

It was the equalizer Real Madrid desperately needed after going down 1-0 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. It was also a moment of magic Mbappé summoned to breathe life into a team wildly uninterested in maintaining possession, creating chances or tracking back.

A team that looked wildly uninterested in playing at even half the level necessary to win a Champions League match away from home. By the time the halftime whistle sounded, Mbappé's strike was the only goal Real Madrid managed in a withering opening 45 minutes.

Things went from lackluster to dire soon after the restart; the visitors were on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline before avintage comebackfueled by José Mourinho's substitutes saved the team from embarrassment. It was hardly a victory to celebrate, considering just how poor the team played-again-but Mbappé walked away with plenty of accolades to celebrate his 100th Champions League appearance.

Mbappé Rewrites the Champions League Record Books Kylian Mbappé is chasing Cristiano Ronaldo. For all the goals he scores, the team looks no closer to winning a major trophy than it did two seasons ago during his debut campaign.

But his production on Europe's grandest stage is simply undeniable. At 27 years old, Mbappé is already in the pantheon of the greatest Champions League forwards.

His goal against Roma was his 72nd in the competition, pushing him further up the goalscoring charts. All-Time Champions League Goalscorers Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest Champions League goalscorer of all time.

Raúl 71 In 100 appearances, Mbappé is now the fifth all-time leading goalscorer in Champions League history. He has more goals to his name than the likes of Raúl, Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah.