Freshly arrived at Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is already under scrutiny for his style of play. While his offensive output is criticised, the French striker is once again being questioned for his defensive involvement. The revelation hints at frustration among some players.
In less than 48 hours, Real Madrid will return to competition. A week after playing their last match (against Barça in El Clásico), Carlo Ancelotti’s team is preparing to face AC Milan in the Champions League this Tuesday. Before this crucial match, the coaching staff has tried to identify the team’s weaknesses. According to the Spanish media outlet Relevo, the verdict is unequivocal for Kylian Mbappé, who has just joined the team.
Mbappé’s lack of defensive effort
Taking on a new role at Real, the captain of the French national team is not spared any criticism. Although Carlo Ancelotti stated that he doesn’t require defensive efforts from his forwards, whose role is to score goals, things seem to be shifting. According to reports, the Madrid coach and his staff, who have analysed the team’s recent performances in great detail, have concluded that the team’s problem lies in defence.
While Ferland Mendy and Lucas Vázquez have been criticised, the Madrid leadership also laments the defensive performance of the forwards, particularly Kylian Mbappé. According to Relevo, the former PSG player makes virtually no defensive efforts, which greatly penalises the team during counter-attacks. To support these claims, reports indicate that KM9 covered only 8 km during the 4-0 loss to Barça in El Clásico.
In this crucial match, counting towards the eleventh day of La Liga, the Bondy native was, for instance, called out by the coaching staff, who detected considerable freedom granted to Marc Casado during their analysis. Indeed, when the young Catalan had the ball, Mbappé exerted no pressing on him, allowing him to easily assist Robert Lewandowski for the opening goal.
Frustrated Real Madrid players
As Relevo’s main article also reveals, several players are reportedly unhappy with their French teammate’s defensive attitude. To compensate for this deficit, some players find themselves forced to leave their roles to help with ball recovery, which destabilises the system in place. Among the frustrated players, Jude Bellingham’s name is mentioned, as he is particularly dissatisfied with the situation. Today, it’s a serious blow for the 25-year-old French star, who some consider to be Real Madrid’s real problem.
Although Florentino Pérez’s club does not yet see the situation as alarming, they are nonetheless expecting a response from their player. Like Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo have done for years, defensive tracking is a requirement for Carlo Ancelotti’s players, who do not operate in a possession-based system. In this context, the entire team is expected to contribute to recovery, build-up, and offensive phases.
Now that it’s clear Real’s primary issue is defensive, we’ll see what solution the coaching staff has devised to finally close this chapter. In any case, Kylian Mbappé will have to make amends, or he risks experiencing a tough first season with his childhood club, which is one of the most scrutinised, criticised, and closely watched in the world. See you on Tuesday to discover the face Ancelotti’s men will present against the Milanese.
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