Blog

Decision Made on Whether Kylian Mbappe’s Goal vs Leganes Counts as Free-Kick

2 days ago
Add Comment
by talk2soccer



Is Kylian Mbappe’s first career free kick now in the books? After the Real Madrid player scored the game-winning goal in a contentious 3-2 victory over Leganes on Saturday night, this controversy is still boiling on social media.


Los Blancos narrowly defeated relegation-threatened Leganes at the Bernabeu to tie league leaders Barcelona on points. Diego Garcia gave the visitors an equaliser shortly after Mbappe’s penalty kick in the 32nd minute gave them the lead.



Then, just before halftime, Leganes took a surprising lead thanks to Dani Raba. But second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Mbappe, who scored his 33rd goal of the season to tie Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid debut season goal total, guaranteed Carlo Ancelotti’s title-chasing team the three points.



Mbappe is currently only one goal behind Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona in the competition for Spain’s best goalscorer award, the Pichichi. With 22 goals, the prolific France international is one goal short of Lewandowski’s 23.

Top scorers in La Liga as of March 29, 2025



The player


Club

Objectives

Lewandowski, Robert

Barcelona

23

Mbappe Kylian

Real Madrid

22

Budimir Ante

The Osasuna

15.

Raphinha

Barcelona

13.

Sancet, Oihan

Sports Club

13.

But does Mbappe’s season-long 22nd La Liga goal qualify as a free kick? Before putting the ball past Leganes goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, Mbappe exchanged passes with teammate Fran Garcia instead of shooting straight.  View the video below:

Mbappe Free-Kick Decision Revealed

Here’s what the stats say

Although many are arguing that Garcia’s touch disqualifies this as a free-kick, SofaScore has now explained what the statistics indicate. “To clear up any confusion – our official stat provider, Opta, deem situations such as Mbappe’s as free kick goals, despite involvement from other players prior to the shot,” they confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

 

Well, there it is. Even if a teammate sets up a goal like Mbappe’s, the statisticians still consider it as a free kick. At least in their perspective, Mbappe’s long wait for his first career free kick is over.

Who Celebrated Mbappe’s First Free Kick? With
According to Real Madrid Confidential, the Frenchman thanked Real Madrid’s goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis for celebrating alongside Mbappe after he scored his first free kick. Despite Mbappe’s dismal performance in dead-ball situations, Llopis is said to have been the one to inform Ancelotti that he should be the team’s free-kick taker.

But based on his strike against Leganes, Llopis might have made a brilliant decision. While many people doubted him, Mbappe made care to thank the coach for believing in him. View the video below:



You may also like

About the author

talk2soccer

View all posts

Leave a Comment