Kylian Mbappé continued his staggering form for club and country with the final goal in a 2–0 win for France against Ukraine on Friday evening.

The ruthless Real Madrid forward has been a man possessed this season. After spending much of this summer’s Club World Cup recovering from a bout of gastroenteritis which forced him into hospital, the 26-year-old used his limited time off to get into arguably the best shape of his career.

Sharper, fitter and seemingly happier, Mbappé already boasts three goals in as many appearances for Real Madrid this term—not to mention the two he had chalked off against Mallorca last weekend by VAR. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more after this first year where he did great things,” Madrid boss Xabi Alonso gushed last month. “He wants to improve individual and collective performance and inspire his teammates.

“You can see his desire every day.”

That feverish hunger was evident in Wrocław once again. Michael Olise fired France into a first-half lead before Mbappé sealed all three points in this World Cup qualifier. Haring behind Ukraine’s backline to track down a raking 70-yard spear through the center of the pitch from his Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouameni, France’s skipper stood up Paris Saint-Germain’s summer recruit Illia Zabarnyi, twisted him around like a spinning top before stuffing the ball into the bottom corner.

Mbappé’s fourth goal of this embryonic season represented his 51st for France, matching the remarkable tally set by his childhood idol Thierry Henry. The modern Real Madrid star needed just 89 appearances to equal a return Henry amassed after 123 caps.

Only Olivier Giroud has scored more goals for his nation’s men’s national team, although that haul of 57 could be surpassed by the end of the year if Mbappé maintains his form.

The Spanish press describe the prolific attitude of Madrid’s No. 10 as “killer mode,” echoing the unashamedly goal-centric focus displayed in the capital by Cristiano Ronaldo in years gone by. To underscore that stance of eternal evolution, Mbappé wasn’t entirely satisfied with his landmark night in Poland.

“We could have scored more,” he shrugged, “I, myself, missed a few, so there is room for improvement.” But not much.

READ THE LATEST SOCCER NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MATCH REACTION


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kylian Mbappe Matches Thierry Henry, Closes on All-Time Scoring Record.