Alvaro Arbeloa believes Kylian Mbappe is "on his way" to being like Cristiano Ronaldo after he found the net yet again in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Valencia.
Madrid had to wait to break the deadlock after an uninspiring first-half performance, with Mbappe, Arda Guler, and debutant David Jimenez all spurning chances, while Valencia threatened at the other end through Arnaut Danjuma.
Alvaro Carreras finally opened the scoring in the 65th minute with a brilliant individual effort at the near post.
And Mbappe sealed the points in stoppage time, coolly finishing off Brahim Diaz's set-up to take Madrid within a point of leaders Barcelona following their commanding win over Mallorca on Saturday.
"Words fail to describe Kylian," Arbeloa said after the match. "We thought we wouldn't see anything like Cristiano, but he's on his way.
"We're very lucky to have him. He's the best player in the world right now.
"Like I said, Cristiano's performance seemed otherworldly, and Kylian still has a long way to go, but he has the talent to follow in his footsteps. Why not surpass him? If anyone can, it's Kylian.
"And Alvaro's [Carreras] goal shows he has a lot of talent going forward too. He also scored a great goal against Valencia in the first leg."
With his goal, Mbappe is now enjoying the longest current scoring streak in Europe's top five leagues, having scored seven goals in his last six matches in LaLiga.
He also leads the scoring charts in LaLiga this season, having found the net 23 times.
Madrid, meanwhile, have somewhat recovered from a challenging period mid-season and have now won their last seven LaLiga matches.
"Playing at Mestalla is always like going to the dentist," Arbeloa joked. "We knew how difficult the match would be, how demanding they were.
"It was a very serious and committed game. I'm happy, and we'll keep improving.
"We knew what we were getting into. It was only three wins in 11 years, and I was lucky enough to come to Mestalla a lot as a player.
"I know how difficult it is. Playing against Real Madrid is important for them. And with the five-man backline they used, we knew we’d need to be patient.
"We had to play a very focused game, and we are deserved winners."