Gonzalo García: Real Madrid’s ‘other’ Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé has been in scintillating form in front of goal since joining Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 82 goals in 90 appearances for the LaLiga giants. The France captain’s importance to Madrid is underlined by the fact he has netted 42.7% of their goals this season, 38 of 89 in 2025-26.

Even so, there is little reason for head coach Álvaro Arbeloa to panic if Mbappé is unavailable.

García steps up when Mbappé sits out

Youngster Gonzalo García is the only other recognized central striker in Los Blancos’ first-team squad. Yet the 21-year-old has developed a habit of stepping up whenever Mbappé has been forced to sit out, usually because of injury.

García opened the scoring against Real Sociedad on Sunday, continuing a trend that dates back to the start of the FIFA Club World Cup last summer.

As highlighted by sports analytics company Opta, the Spaniard has scored in eight different games for Madrid since then, none of which Mbappé started.

Young striker’s Club World Cup breakthrough

García struck four times at the Club World Cup, finding the net against Al Hilal, Salzburg, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. Mbappé replaced the youngster against Juventus and came off the bench in the second half of the win over Dortmund.

The pattern has continued into 2026.

All six of García’s goals this calendar year have come in games Mbappé did not start. They include a hat trick in a 5-1 rout of Real Betis, equalizers in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona and in the ill-fated Copa del Rey tie away to second-tier Albacete, plus Sunday’s early strike against Real Sociedad.

The only one of those matches in which Mbappé featured was the Clásico defeat to Barça in Saudi Arabia, when the former PSG forward replaced García.

Will Kylian Mbappé start against Benfica?

Mbappé did not feature at the weekend as a precaution following a minor knee issue, although he was named on the bench in case of emergency. García’s goal set Madrid on their way to an impressive 4-1 victory, ensuring that emergency was never required.

Arbeloa later confirmed he expects Mbappé to lead the line in the crucial Champions League playoff first leg against Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday.

But even if the French superstar were unavailable, Madrid appear to have a ready-made solution. García and Mbappé offer very different profiles, yet the academy product has repeatedly shown in recent months that he can serve as Real Madrid’s Mbappé impersonator when the real thing is missing.

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