Gonzalo García’s La Liga hat-trick points the way ahead for Real Madrid – in Jeddah and beyond

Only a few weeks ago, reports circulated suggesting Gonzalo García could leave Real Madrid on loan this month. After the 21-year-old’s starring role in Sunday’s 5-1 victory over Real Betis, that idea can be put to bed.

It takes a special player to deputise so ably for Kylian Mbappé that the Frenchman’s absence barely registers. But García is nothing if not special, and against Betis the Spanish youth international offered another reminder of his sparkling potential.

How good was he? So good, he won it twice. First, when he rose to angle Rodrygo’s far post free-kick back across goal to give Madrid an early lead, one he doubled shortly after half-time with an extraordinary, arrow-like volley from outside the area. Then, when Cucho Hernández scored for the visitors shortly after the hour, raising the possibility of an improbable revival from 3-0 down – until García produced an impudent backheel to restore Madrid’s three-goal cushion.

Mbappé, out with a sprained left knee and a serious doubt for Thursday’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Atlético Madrid in Jeddah, was able to celebrate his team’s success from one of the Bernabéu’s VIP boxes, safe in the knowledge that the No 9 role was in safe hands. For a player who has shouldered a disproportionate burden of late – with 29 goals from 24 appearances across all competitions, Mbappé has scored almost half of Madrid’s 56 goals this season – García’s performance can only have been a source of comfort for the Frenchman. The club may remain four points shy of league leaders Barcelona, but its front-line remains in good hands.

How Gonzalo García is emerging as a credible understudy for Kylian Mbappé

And no, we shouldn’t get carried away. The Spaniard’s goals were his first in La Liga from 19 appearances, and this was only his second league start for Madrid. Yet it is not as if he doesn’t have form for grabbing the headlines in Mbappé’s absence. At last summer’s Club World Cup in the United States, where the Frenchman was sidelined by illness, García claimed four goals, an assist and the golden boot. So while he remains a work in progress, he is fast emerging as a highly capable understudy. 

Certainly more so than Vinícius Júnior, whose underwhelming season continued against Betis. The Brazilian was once again jeered by the Madrid faithful following his 77th-minute withdrawal, and the sobering reality is that García has shown greater cutting edge in two league starts than Vinícius, who has five goals, has found in 16. If life at a big club is about taking your chances, the Spaniard has taken his in a way that his more feted team-mate has not.

And what chances. If the pick of García’s goals was arguably the second, a virtuoso effort that saw him chest down a Federico Valverde cross before rapidly adjusting his feet to catch the ball perfectly on the volley, the overall effect was barely less impressive. It was the perfect hat-trick – header, right-foot finish, left-foot finish – with perhaps the most remarkable aspect that it came from a player whose football this season has been played mostly for the Spain under-21 team. No wonder García’s manager, Xabi Alonso, was left purring about the forward’s performance.

What did Xabi Alonso say about García’s performance against Real Betis?

“It was a dream game for him,” said Alonso. “Playing at the Bernabéu, first season with the first team, and to hit a hat-trick. He wanted to score here, and I’m happy for him, and with how he works every day whether or not he gets the chance to play. He has an unbelievable attitude and he’s a fantastic example of what it means to be a Real Madrid academy graduate. I congratulate him on his performance, on the hat-trick, and I encourage him to keep going.”

If that assessment was not enough to get Vinícius’s ears burning, what followed should certainly have the Brazilian sitting up. 

“Football demands teamwork with and without the ball,” Alonso continued. “Forwards start the press, defend high, and manage how the team presses. Gonzalo understands that very well – he’s aggressive, accelerates quickly, presses at the right time, and, most importantly, he scores goals. If you add that defensive capacity to his scoring ability, it really improves the team’s defensive balance.”  

Could García earn a starting place at Real Madrid at the expense of Vinícius?

It would be an exaggeration to portray Alonso’s words as a warning shot across the bows for Vinícius. He was also at pains to defend the winger from criticism, insisting Vinícius “continues to be fundamental for Real Madrid”. But neither should it go unnoticed that the Spaniard played García through the middle in last month’s Copa del Rey win against Talavera, with Mbappé reverting to his old position on the left in place of Vinícius. 

Admittedly, the Brazilian’s omission from the lineup was partly the result of squad rotation. But it was notable that Vinícius, who has endured a strained relationship with Alonso since the latter’s arrival as manager last summer, remained on the bench throughout, notwithstanding Madrid’s faltering performance in a 3-2 win. It marked another chapter in the winger’s well-documented contract standoff with the club, a situation that remains a source of uncertainty as Vinícius reportedly demands wage parity with Mbappé.

What seems contrastingly unequivocal is that, if García can consistently reproduce the level he showed against sixth-placed Betis, starting in Jeddah on Thursday, Alonso will face some tough decisions in the weeks and months ahead.