Everyone is talking about it. In Spain, as elsewhere in Europe, the Kylian Mbappé case is causing ink to flow. A star recruit for Real Madrid, the 25-year-old Frenchman is having a very complicated start under his new colors. If his statistics are rather honorable, since he has scored 10 goals and delivered 2 assists in 19 appearances in all competitions, KM9 has not yet impressed. The captain of the Blues is playing at a level well below what he is capable of doing. Above all, he seems mentally affected, having notably failed twice on penalties (against Liverpool then Bilbao, editor’s note). But the French international wants to rectify the situation.
This is the message he sent to the supporters, but also to his club and his teammates. Despite everything, the Bondynois continues to be the target of the Spanish press, which multiplies articles and debates about him. But this Friday, the former Paris Saint-Germain player is no longer the only one to attract the wrath of Iberian journalists. Indeed, for some, Real Madrid’s problems do not only come from the Frenchman. Other personalities of the club are singled out, like the physical trainer Antonio Pintus. The latter, whose relations with Carlo Ancelotti have reportedly cooled, is increasingly criticized due to the numerous injuries within the Madrid squad.
Ancelotti’s surprising management
The Italian coach is also at the center of the debates. In fact, the Cadena SER spoke about Ancelotti’s poor management of his team and more specifically regarding the choice of the penalty taker. “For me, it is the responsibility of the coach because we cannot ask Mbappé at the moment to take the ball and shoot. He’s going to want to catch him because of everything Mbappé represents.assured Jofre Mateu, former footballer and radio consultant. Also present on set, journalist Eloy Lancina confided: “I’m not going to ask Mbappé to sit on the bench, but if you see for the umpteenth time that a player is not there during the match, don’t give him 90 minutes. On Wednesday, the first change was Brahim, who replaced Ceballos.
He added: “then, in the 70th minute, in a match that you lose 1-0, enter Modric and Mendy, with Güler and Endrick (…) Someone who we congratulate for being a great manager must make decisions without this implying a mutiny. Maybe he wants to protect the player (Mbappé).” Besides Ancelotti, certain elements of the group are also in the crosshairs of Marca this Friday morning. Without exonerating Mbappé, who is not playing at his best level, the Iberian media points out the collective shortcomings of Real Madrid, less strong than last year despite the arrival of the French superstar. At the same stage of the season in 2023-24, the Merengues had scored more goals (33 in La Liga compared to 31 this season, 13 in C1 compared to 9 this season).
Mbappé is not the only one responsible
The Spanish champions had only one defeat at that time in La Liga, compared to five this season. In addition, the Madrilenians have already participated in 3 matches without scoring this season. Last year, this only happened twice in the entire 2023-24 fiscal year. And for MarcaMbappé is not the only culprit. The Madrid media indicates that Vinicius Jr, absent in particular due to injury, does not help KM9 enough. Rodrygo, injured twice, has not scored since September 24. He has also found the net 3 times in La Liga and has not scored in C1. Jude Bellingham “came back to earth” after a year where he scored several times.
Although he has scored 4 goals in his last La Liga outings, the Englishman must do better according to Marca. Finally, the Spanish publication adds that a luxury joker like Brahim Diaz, essential last year in each of his appearances, is less decisive, he who only found the fault once in La Liga. He was also physically affected this year. The departure of Joselu (18 goals), who was a substitute, is also mentioned. We can also cite elements like Ferland Mendy or Aurélien Tchouameni, who was not at his best level before his injury. But Marca and the Cadena SER focus on Ancelotti, Vini Jr, Rodrygo, Brahim, Bellingham and Pintus. In the midst of a crisis, Real Madrid, which has not managed to recover from the loss of Toni Kroos this summer (he retired, editor’s note), will quickly have to get its head above water. The solution will certainly come from the group.
