Kylian Mbappé added his name to another line in the record books Saturday, tying Cristiano Ronaldo for the most goals by a Real Madrid player in a calendar year.

The milestone was about to escape the France striker until he converted a penalty kick with four minutes left to complete a 2-0 win over 10-man Sevilla in Madrid’s final game of the year.

He marked the achievement, which came on his 27th birthday, with a subdued version of Ronaldo’s trademark “Siu” goal celebration before blowing a kiss at the television cameras.

“A special day,” Mbappé said. “We won the game, which was important — that was the objective. With the record, it’s incredible in my first year doing what Cristiano did, the best player in Real Madrid’s history, a role model in world football.

“It’s an honor for me. He’s always been affectionate to me, talking to me about Madrid and how to adapt. I’m very happy now to score goals for Real Madrid.

“[The celebration] was for him. I have my own usually, but I wanted to share it with him today. He was my idol as a kid, I have a good relationship with him, and he’s my friend now.”

The former Paris Saint-Germain star, who joined Madrid in summer 2024, has scored 29 times for Madrid this season, putting him into a tie with Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane for most goals by a player from a club in Europe’s top five leagues.

“I congratulate him, and I encourage him to start 2026 well,” Madrid boss Xabi Alonso said of Mbappé, who also has a LaLiga-leading 18 goals this season.

Jude Bellingham scored with a header in the 38th minute to give Madrid the lead on Saturday before Sevilla lost defender Marcão to a second booking for rash tackles with 20 minutes left.

The result was still in doubt until Mbappé converted his spot kick after Juanlu fouled Rodrygo in the area.

The win will do little to ease the pressure on Alonso, with the team underperforming despite three consecutive wins this week.

“We know the moment we’re in,” Alonso said. “We’re demanding and self-critical to play better, we know this isn’t our level and we want to improve. … The priority was to win, but obviously some things didn’t go as we wanted.”

Madrid sit a point behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona ahead of the Catalan club’s match with Villarreal on Sunday.

Information from ESPN’s Alex Kirkland, ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. Arizona Wildcats: Game Highlights

Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. Arizona Wildcats: Game Highlights

We’re changing the formula for this season’s monthly rankings of men’s college basketball power conferences. Instead of measuring only the projected number of NCAA tournament bids and seeding, our ranking is based on a single question: Which conference is most likely to produce the 2026 national champion?

Hint: It’s a close race between the Big Ten and Big 12 for the top spot in the December edition.

Note: “Current bids” represents the number of teams from each conference in the latest Bracketology. “Projected bids” represents the number of bids we forecast a conference could have on Selection Sunday.

5. Big East

November rank: 4

Current bids: 4 (-1 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 3
Average seed: 6.8

Championship caliber: UConn is even better than we projected heading into the season. St. John’s isn’t, at least not yet. And the aggregate Big East picture is less than promising. It’s conceivable that only the Huskies and Red Storm make the NCAA tournament, which would net the conference’s lowest bid total yet.

Joey Brackets says: The modern Big East has officially evolved from a conference carried by Villanova to one carried by UConn. That boosts the conference’s profile when the Huskies reach the first Monday of April but doesn’t change its footprint on Selection Sunday. Seton Hall‘s pleasant emergence isn’t enough to make up for lackluster nonconference slates for Nova, Creighton, Xavier and Providence. And this will be the last time Marquette is mentioned for a long while.

Game of the year: UConn at St. John’s on Feb. 6 (8 p.m. ET)

4. ACC

November rank: 5

Current bids: 8 (+3 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 8
Average seed: 5.9

Championship caliber: Duke remains the most obvious national championship contender, but soon-to-be-healthy archrival North Carolina has joined Louisville among ACC teams with Final Four potential. We also like Virginia as a sleeper.

Joey Brackets says: The ACC bounce-back is real. Any projection in which the conference doubles its NCAA output from a season ago will be received happily by anyone who felt slighted by pundits like yours truly the past several seasons.

Game of the year: Duke at Louisville on Jan. 6 (7 p.m. ET)

3. SEC

November rank: 2

Current bids: 9 (-2 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 9
Average seed: 5.3

Championship caliber: Unlike a season ago, when the SEC would have been hard-pressed to not produce the national champion, there is no certain title contender in an otherwise deep and ferocious conference. It boasts both quality and quantity, just not at the same elite level as 2024-25.

Joey Brackets says: The lower probability of generating a champion doesn’t mean there aren’t a half-dozen SEC teams that could make the Final Four, including we-should-have-seen-it-coming Vanderbilt. There just isn’t a clear favorite or even a “probable” to do the deed, akin to the position the Big Ten has been in on multiple occasions over the past few seasons.

Game of the year: Alabama at Vanderbilt on Jan. 7 (9 p.m. ET)

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Highlight: No. 13 Vanderbilt stuns Memphis in overtime thriller

Duke Miles powers the offense with 22 points and Tyler Tanner puts up 16 as the Commodores outlast the Tigers in overtime to secure the 77-70 victory.

2. Big Ten

November rank: 1

Current bids: 10 (-1 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 10
Average seed: 5.3

Championship caliber: If we sent the top two Big Ten teams (Michigan and Purdue) and the top two Big 12 teams (Arizona and Iowa State) to the Final Four right now, would anyone outside of Durham or Storrs complain? Put another way: If someone wants to give me those four against the field, I’m all ears.

Joey Brackets says: I won’t victory lap my preseason national champion prediction of Michigan for at least another month, but the margin between the Big Ten and Big 12 for the No. 1 spot in this month’s ranking is razor thin. The Big Ten loses out ever so slightly because it has a worse (and larger) bottom. I also can’t get Iowa State’s 81-58 thrashing of Purdue at Mackey Arena out of my mind.

Game of the year: Michigan at Purdue on Feb. 17 (6:30 p.m. ET)

1. Big 12

November rank: 3

Current bids: 9 (8 in Nov.)
Projected bids: 9
Average seed: 5.2

Championship caliber: The Big 12 currently holds two projected No. 1 seeds (Arizona and Iowa State) and a No. 2 seed (BYU). And that’s without mentioning Houston — a preseason 1-seed by acclamation and losers of just a single one-possession game to date — or Kansas, which has collected a staggering 11 top seeds under Bill Self. In other words: The Big 12 is loaded.

Joey Brackets says: Prior to the SEC’s record-setting storm a season ago, the Big 12 was the No. 1 conference on KenPom for three straight seasons and nine of the past 11. It is on track to regain the top spot in 2026.

Game of the year: Iowa State at Arizona on March 2 (9 p.m. ET)

USC guard Rodney Rice will undergo surgery on his right shoulder and miss the rest of the season, the school announced Wednesday.

Rice has been sidelined with the injury since the Maui Invitational, missing the past five games.

“Rodney is an instrumental part of our team,” USC coach Eric Musselman said. “He is a leader for us and has been the offensive spark that guided us through crucial games earlier this season. We will miss his energy on the court but know his leadership will still be crucial to our team’s success. We look forward to watching him attack his rehab and come back even stronger.”

A 6-foot-5 guard, Rice was one of the best transfers in the country through the first month of the season, averaging 20.3 points and 6.0 assists in six games. He enjoyed a breakout campaign at Maryland in 2024-25, putting up 13.8 points per game.

Rice is the second USC player to suffer a season-ending injury in recent weeks, with Amarion Dickerson expected to miss the next three to four months with a hip injury.

With the injury issues, the Trojans have added former Robert Morris guard Kam Woods to the roster, the team announced Thursday. USC will be Woods’ sixth school in six years, and he is eligible to play immediately, the Trojans said. He averaged 14.9 points and 5.2 assists per game for the Colonials last season.

There is also growing optimism that Alijah Arenas, the son of Gilbert Arenas and a five-star recruit in the 2025 class, could return to play in January. Arenas suffered a knee injury in July, weeks after making his practice debut following an April car crash that left him hospitalized for nearly a week.

USC improved to 11-1 after defeating UTSA 97-70 on Wednesday night.