Took advantage of Mbappé’s absence. Gonzalo García matches van Nistelrooy’s 20-year-old feat

Real Madrid delivered a resounding victory at home over Betis in matchday 18 of La Liga, thrashing their opponents 5-1. The main protagonist of the night was Gonzalo García, who stepped in as the lead striker to replace the injured Kylian Mbappé.

The 21-year-old academy product started the match and netted a hat-trick, opening his goal tally for the season in spectacular fashion. Remarkably, García became only the second Real Madrid player to score his debut goal and immediately notch a hat-trick in La Liga. The first to do so was Ruud van Nistelrooy back in September 2006.

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As a reminder, at the halfway point of the season, Real Madrid sits second in the table, trailing league leaders Barcelona by four points.