France, Feb. 20 -- France skipper Kylian Mbappe was hailed in sports newpapers in France and Spain on Thursday for a dazzling hat trick in Real Madrid's 3-1 destruction of Manchester City in the second leg of their play-off to reach the last-16 Champions League.

In his home country, L'Equipe's front page declared: "Ole, ole, ole" while the Spanish newspaper As - traditionally a pro-Madrid tract - carried the headline: "Mbappe is already Cristiano" and showed a video of a young Mbappe in a Real Madrid shirt next to his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.

"From idol to reference point ... and the measure of all things," said the article. "Mbappe began his Madrid career in the same way as Cristiano Ronaldo, with a packed Bernabeu and a: 'One...