Football has changed. And even a little too much for Kylian Mbappé, who went from attacking boss of Paris Saint-Germain to simple pawn at Real Madrid. If we allow ourselves to write this, it is because we obviously saw his first on the Santiago Bernabeu pitch, and we were able to see that at the moment, he is not particularly privileged in the passing circuits, with his new position as pure number 9. The proof is that he is the outfield player to have touched the ball the least against Valladolid with 47 balls played, against 57 for Vinicius and Rodrygo and 63 for Arda Güler.
Already criticized by the Spanish press, who expected better, but not yet condemned, he is obviously defended by his coach Carlo Ancelotti and his teammates. But he will have to understand this new role, and know how to be decisive with less ammunition than he could have had at PSG. How to better integrate him into this offensive sector which largely proved itself last season? Ancelotti is not going to change what he has started to put in place. “Do I think about moving him to the wing? Absolutely not. He is a spectacular striker, very fast, he moves phenomenally without the ball and attacks the depth. He had three or four chances. In this position, he will score as he has always scored.”he assured after the victory against Valladolid.
A new scheme coming?
Bellingham’s month-long absence doesn’t change the problem for Mbappé, who has to learn to play with Vinicius on the left and Rodrygo on the right. With the former, he combined 3 times in 85 minutes. With the latter, 5 times. But it was Vinicius who gave the impression of wanting to put the Frenchman in the best conditions. Problem: Mbappé’s calls weren’t always good, and Rodrygo, for example, didn’t hide his incomprehension on an occasion where he thought he had launched his teammate into the right space, while the latter had been slow to get going.
Mbappé offered solutions in depth several times, particularly to his defenders, which gave rise to a great move in the first half. But this depth no longer existed when Güler, Vinicius or Rodrygo had the ball 30 meters from the goal. And it was rather Mbappé’s shortcomings that stood out in small spaces, with missed controls in particular. To better integrate him, Carlo Ancelotti will first show patience, and trust, towards his striker. He experienced the delicate integration of Gareth Bale, and he is perhaps the coach most able to untangle the tangle created by the arrival of Mbappé in the squad.
Another solution has also already been mentioned by the media. Relevowith a switch to 4-4-2, as we saw at the end of the match against Valladolid. Such a pattern highlights the qualities of Mbappé, who likes to have another central striker to move around. That’s how he exploded in Monaco. Will Ancelotti try it in the next match against Las Palmas? Answer on Thursday evening.
