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“He has experience, he’s often played against Barcelona,” Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said when quizzed on Kylian Mbappe’s mindset heading into the first Clasico of the 2024-25 season. “He knows what he has to do… His way of preparing for a game is to be very calm, very straightforward.”
Barcelona certainly struggled to contain Mbappe when he was a Paris Saint-Germain player, with the Frenchman notching six goals in four appearances against the Catalan giants. Mbappe even managed to outshine Lionel Messi in a 2020-21 Champions League last-16 tie, scoring a stunning hat-trick to give PSG a 4-1 first-leg victory at Camp Nou.
Things didn’t always run smoothly for Mbappe at PSG, but he rarely let them down in the biggest matches. The World Cup winner left the club in the summer with 20 Champions League knockout goals to his name and a combined total of 38 against PSG’s main Ligue 1 rivals Monaco, Marseille, Lille and Lyon.
Ancelotti was banking on that version of Mbappe showing up again on Saturday. Alas, he turned out to be little more than a pale imitation as Barca romped to a 4-0 victory at Santiago Bernabeu, moving six points clear of Madrid at the top of La Liga in the process. Robert Lewandowski put on a finishing clinic to inspire Barca while Mbappe turned in his most frustrating performance in a Madrid shirt to date – which is really saying something.
There was a huge gulf between the two sides last season as Ancelotti’s team stormed to a La Liga and Champions League double, but that dynamic has been completely reversed in a few short months. Mbappe’ presence has made Madrid worse; he’s thrown their well-oiled machine completely out of balance, and something has to change quickly if they are to start clawing Barca back.
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Getty ImagesFalls into Barca trap
Mbappe made headlines for equalling an unwanted La Liga record in his first Clasico, straying offside eight times to match the previous mark set by Brazilian striker Jonathas with Elche in a clash with Athletic Club back in 2009. Barcelona defended practically on the halfway line to catch Mbappe out, and he kept falling into the trap of going too early whenever Madrid had the opportunity to counter.
It was a risky tactical blueprint that could have backfired on Hansi Flick, given Mbappe’s electrifying pace. But the former PSG star’s failure to time his runs was laughable. Mbappe saw two goals disallowed, with VAR pulling him back the first time after he’d wheeled away to celebrate dinking the ball over Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena on the half-hour mark.
There was no faulting the effort levels of Mbappe, who pressed relentlessly from the first minute, but it felt like he was trying too hard at times. He managed only three legitimate shots at Barca’s goal in the match, the last of which saw him fire straight at Pena after being put through by Luka Modric.
When Madrid needed their talismanic No.9 to show composure and quality, he was found wanting, which has been the case for much of his debut campaign at the Bernabeu so far. Even Ancelotti was left exasperated, as he admitted to reporters: “We knew that they played with a high line, and we just couldn’t take advantage of it. Sometimes (Mbappe) fell offside, but he had three or four chances to score and needed a better finishing touch.”
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GettyCompletely drained of confidence
Mbappe was ridiculed in the Spanish press after the game, with Diario Sport claiming he “made a historic fool out of himself”. The Catalan newspaper added: “It was one of his worst nights in professional football. The Frenchman was slow, nervous and imprecise. He participated very little in the attacking game.”
The statistics back up that scathing assessment. Mbappe only attempted 15 passes in his 90 minutes on the pitch, none of which were progressive, and touched the ball just 27 times overall. He also lost possession on nine occasions on his way to posting a dismal expected goals (xG) tally of 0.58.
A section of Madristas even aimed whistles at Mbappe as his body language worsened towards the end of the contest. He looked like a man completely drained of all confidence, which should be a major concern for Ancelotti.
Initially heralded as the long-term replacement for Karim Benzema, who left Madrid in 2022, Mbappe has hit a respectable eight goals in his first 14 outings for the club, but he’s not been nearly as influential as his compatriot was. “He’s scoring goals but he’s not playing as well, so that’s what they’re going to call out,” France icon Thierry Henry said to CBS Sports last week when reacting to Mbappe’s struggles to win over Madrid supporters.
“It’s not enough in clubs like that. Is he playing the best that we’ve seen him play from his days at Paris Saint-Germain? No, he still has to learn – and I know it’s weird to say that – or play better as a nine, which is very difficult for him at the minute.”
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Getty Images SportDetrimental impact on Bellingham
Last season, Jude Bellingham unexpectedly stepped up to fill Benzema’s boots and lead the line in his first season at Madrid, scoring 23 goals across all competitions. Joselu and Brahim Diaz also made vital contributions, but Bellingham’s evolution into a potential attacking weapon lifted Los Blancos to another level as he struck up a strong relationship with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo.
Mbappe’s arrival has disrupted that harmony. Ancelotti put the 25-year-old straight in at centre-forward, despite being primarily deployed on the left wing at PSG, and Bellingham has been the main victim of the Italian’s attempts to accommodate Madrid’s newest Galactico. The England international has been forced into deeper positions, even operating as a right-back against Barca, and as a consequence, has yet to open his scoring account in 2024-25.
“Bellingham is a shadow of the player who burst onto the scene last season. And the fault lies not with him, but with the way he is being managed,” Spanish journalist Juan Ignacio Garcia-Ochoa wrote in Marca. “Every day he plays in a position that is not his and the boy, although he gives his all, does not shine. Playing close to the right flank, playing as a full-back for many minutes, is a joke in bad taste that Ancelotti must correct immediately.”
Madrid are no longer playing to Bellingham’s strengths, because the team is built around Mbappe. That would be an acceptable sacrifice if the ex-Monaco man was living up to his reputation as the ultimate difference-maker, but he looks like a fish out of water right now, and is still toiling to build up some believable chemistry with his new team-mates.
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AFPYet to gel with Vini
When Mbappe’s move to Madrid was finally confirmed, most people’s first thought was: how would he fit into the same team as Vinicius. The Brazilian ace certainly wasn’t going to be budged from his spot on the left flank after emerging as the frontrunner for the 2024 Ballon d’Or with a haul of 37 goal involvements for Los Blancos last term.
To his credit, Mbappe has embraced his new duties through the middle with plenty of enthusiasm, but he is too often being caught occupying the same spaces as Vinicius because he naturally drifts towards the touchline. There has been little sign of the duo forming an effective partnership, with Vinicius only creating eight chances for Mbappe to date while being teed up for just three opportunites in return, per Opta.
Vinicius enjoyed linking up with Benzema, and Bellingham when he was more advanced; it came naturally as they kept their egos under control for the greater good of the team. In stark contrast, it feels like Mbappe and Vinicius are fighting for the spotlight at the moment, and both men have been guilty of neglecting their defensive duties.
Ancelotti has also played them upfront together at times, including against Barca in the absence of the injured Rodrygo, but switching from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 hasn’t fixed the problem. Mbappe and Vinicius are too similar to work so closely together, and something will have to give eventually.
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GettyPhysical struggles
It must also be noted that Mbappe appears to be struggling from a physical standpoint. He used to win games single-handedly for PSG through sheer brute force, but hasn’t looked nearly as comfortable in his own skin at the Bernabeu.
That could partly be down to the fact he now plays for the biggest club in world football, where the pressure to deliver is higher than anywhere else, but the tentative way Mbappe has gone about his business in Madrid suggests he is not in optimal physical condition. That is understandable considering he joined the club after breaking his nose during France’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2024, with Madrid ultimately deciding not to pencil him in for surgery to fix the facial trauma.
Unsurprisingly, Mbappe failed to score in any of his first three La Liga games and looked visibly rusty. He temporarily silenced his critics by scoring five goals in his next four domestic outings, but then suffered a leg injury that ruled him out of Real’s derby draw against Atletico Madrid.
He recovered in time to return to action from the bench against Lille in the Champions League three days later, and started a subsequent La Liga clash with Villarreal, but didn’t make much of an impact in either game. Mbappe subsequently refused to join the France squad for the October international break in order to focus on regaining full fitness, which caused a lot of controversy.
As France captain, Mbappe has more of a duty than anyone to show up for Didier Deschamps, but he put his own needs ahead of the team. The decision didn’t pay off either, because instead of building up more of a rhythm in relatively easy Nations League games against Belgium and Israel, Mbappe stiffened up again.
He did score his best goal yet for Madrid in a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on his return to club action, but also gave the ball away 13 times and lost six of his eight ground duels. And then he hit a new low in El Clasico, which has left some fans questioning whether he has what it takes to succeed in Spanish capital.
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Getty‘No longer scary’
Of course, Mbappe hasn’t suddenly become a terrible footballer overnight. Madrid chased the France international’s services for over three years because of how consistent he was for PSG, and he’s nigh on unstoppable when firing on all cylinders.
The problem is, that hasn’t been the case for some time. “Mbappe is no longer as explosive or decisive as he was,” legendary ex-France defender Bixente Lizarazu told L’Equipe last month. “He remains a very good scorer, a very good player of course, but he is no longer scary as before.”
Mbappe was supposed to enhance the fear factor surrounding Real Madrid, not reduce it. Their aura of invincibility is gone after the humiliating loss to Barca, and Ancelotti has to find a way to get the best out of Mbappe again if Los Blancos are to bounce back strongly.
But as the former AC Milan and Chelsea boss has pointed out, this is far from a moment of crisis. “The last time we lost 4-0 versus Barcelona at home, we won La Liga and the Champions League. We won’t stop fighting,” Ancelotti said at the weekend. Madrid have lost their 42-game unbeaten record at the Bernabeu, but the war is far from over.
Los Blancos are the envy of almost every club on the continent with their strength in depth, and everyone still expects them to be there or thereabouts again when the big prizes are handed out in May. However, to replicate the success of last term, Real will need the “scary” Mbappe to stand up again, sooner rather than later.
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