Difficult to make a judgment on Kylian Mbappé’s first steps in Madrid… Certainly, on a statistical level, it is rather correct, with 8 goals and 2 assists in 14 matches in all competitions. But in the game, he still often struggles, and also misses a good number of opportunities. His rather mediocre performance during the Clasico against FC Barcelona also earned him a good round of criticism from the Madrid press, which had been rather benevolent with the Bondynois until now.
The Iberian media even explained that there was a bit of annoyance around the French international in Madrid. His presence is also singled out as one of the factors which explains the loss of balance in the team and the less stellar performances of players like Jude Bellingham. And according to newspaper information RelevoAncelotti and the Madrid players pointed out a major flaw in the Monaco-trained striker.
Some teammates are annoyed
It is particularly on the defensive level that the Italian coach expects more. He has noticed that his team’s high pressure on the pitch is not working this season, and that is partly because of Mbappé. Ancelotti is more worried by the Frenchman’s defensive failings than by his misses or his offsides against FC Barcelona. The statistics revealed that against Barça he only ran 8 kilometers, which is extremely low, the average for a striker being 9.9 km per match. The media even adds that if Ancelotti has nothing against the former PSG and still has confidence in him, in the squad, certain players are annoyed by the Frenchman’s lack of defensive involvement.
They consider that Mbappé tends to wait for the ball to pass his pressing line so he can walk, rest, and position himself to prepare for his next call. Both the staff and the players hope that the Bondynois will open his eyes and understand that defensive tasks are just as important as offensive tasks. Ancelotti and his deputies are also thinking about making changes, such as reversing the positions of Vinicius Jr and Mbappé on sequences without the ball. Whatever happens, Mbappé knows what he has to do, starting with this match against Milan on Tuesday evening…
