In an astonishing match earlier today in the UEFA Champions League, Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0. Mac Allister and Gakpo sealed the match for Liverpool. On the other hand, Los Blancos seemed clueless. In the absence of Vinicius Jr, eyes on were Mbappe. But he could not keep up with the expectations. The Spanish giants failed to create enough xG through out the match.
The French star was lacking in quality and composure in the final third of the opposition’s territory. A glimpse of old typical Mbappe can be seen in some instances during the initial minutes of the game. However, later in the game, he went shaky and invited pressure. Carlo Ancelotti’s side got away with some mind-blowing saves by Courtois. On that, Mbappe was not able to grow in the game. He was tightly man-marked by a 21-year-old Liverpool Right Back Conor Bradley.
The highlight of the match pointed towards the performance of Kylian Mbappe. Since his arrival in Real Madrid, his performance had not been as expected. The French star still lacked in confidence. His finesse and sharpness with lightning pace had been invisible during the entire match against Liverpool and the problem had been there since his first match as a Real Madrid player. Vinicius Jr was out injured in the match who played on the same side as Mbappe.
The French star had more freedom and responsibilities coming into the match with a point to proof, which turned out to be a nightmare for him at Anfield. The atmosphere was hostile for Kylian Mbappe in the stadium. Mbappe got a huge roar every time on being dispossessed or tackled. On the end of crunching challenges from Conor Bradley and Van Dijk and went on to miss a penalty that would’ve levelled the score to 1-1. He had real trouble against Conor and failed to create anything in an open play. He was expected to shine but instead ended up being miserable.
Root Cause
Mbappe has 7 goals and 1 assist in 12 matches in La Liga, and 1 goal and 1 assist in the Champions League this season. His overall G+A is 10 so far. The matches he played in the domestic league and Champions League were also not to the level for which he has been crowned best in the world. His numbers had relatively pruned down in Real Madrid.
He had played in multiple positions in Real Madrid. Instead of playing in his ideal position, he had been asked to play in the centre as a pure number 9. Fans’ euphoria surrounding Kylian Mbappe is fading away. The attention is now more on how Carlo Ancelloti would fit him into his starting lineup making sure that he adopts well in the system. The major setback is the positions of all 3 attacking trios of the club. The ideal positions of Vini Jr, Rodrigo and Mbappe are on the left wing. But Rodrigo has adapted to the right wing as well. In many games, both Mbappe and Vini found themselves on the same side, causing unnecessary overload. Los Blancos have faced defeat at their stadium from both FC Barcelona and AC Milan.
