Real Madrid are concerned about Kylian Mbappe. If at the start of the season the Frenchman was scoring goals without impressing too much, now he is doing neither, and his performance in El Clasico has opened the door for that concern to flood in.
While Mbappe is required to score goals, Diario AS say that performing on the big occasion is ‘non-negotiable’. During El Clasico, Barcelona caught Mbappe offside on 8 occasions, when he had just 9 offsides all season, 47% of his offsides in just 8% of his minutes. At Real Madrid, the ‘run-run’, or murmurs of discontent have begun – ‘this Mbappe is not the same as that Mbappe’ is the phrase running through the corridors.
Mbappe has 8 goals this season, but three from the penalty spot, and just one in his last five games. That was a screamer from outside of the box, but not something that he can repeat every game. Los Blancos at this point are unsure how to fix the issue, having tried to address his fitness in the last international break, but that has not improved much. The other issue is a mental block, which is much more difficult to solve.
The 25-year-old is undoubtedly not delivering on his name brand, but is in part the victim of a dysfunctional Real Madrid side, playing in a position that he has voiced his dislike of. While that in of itself is no reason not to perform, it’s been clear that he is not entirely comfortable, and in general, the Real Madrid attack has not clicked. Finding the answer to that will have to be first area Carlo Ancelotti looks to address.