One goal in two games! Kylian Mbappé has already fallen behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s statistics at Real Madrid (450 goals in 438 games for the superhero from Funchal). For his first Liga match, this Sunday in Mallorca, the captain of the French team did not shine, on the contrary, and was unable to help his friends escape the trap set by the Balearic players (1-1). Worse: he was even clearly at fault for Vedat Muriqi’s equalizer, since he rather crudely let go of the marking on the Kosovar goal. The blame is probably shared, since you don’t have to have seen any of the Frenchman’s 453 professional matches to think that it was a good idea to let him take care of the most formidable opposing player with his head.
Hard left
Aside from this defensive blunder, the new Madrid player didn’t really impress on his debut in the Spanish championship. No more than during the European Super Cup, where his performance was saved by his first goal in his new colours. As expected, playing Vinícius Júnior, Mbappé and Rodrygo at the same time is not an easy task. Since the three guys are left-wingers, they are necessarily obsessed with this side of the football chessboard. You only have to look at the heat-map of the trio against the Majorcans. Vinicius plays very much on the left, Mbappé on the left, and Rodrygo agrees to exile himself on the right… but spends a lot of time on the left. The goal of the Meringues is also the perfect illustration of this traffic jam, with Jude Bellingham, Vinícius, Mbappé and Rodrygo stuck in the same small part of the surface, before the latter finds the gap with a nice shot from the right.
The left flank should be occupied by Mbappé or Vinícius without any plan, depending on what they feel.
Charles Ancelotti
52% of Madrid’s attacks have come from the left. So should Carlo Ancelotti choose between a Brazilian and a Frenchman? In a press conference after the game, the Italian coach dodged the issue: “They can change positions from time to time. The left flank should be occupied by Mbappé or Vinícius without any plan, depending on what they feel.” Like at PSG, it was on this side that the 25-year-old striker created his best opportunities even if his attempts were pushed back by Dominik Greif (62nd, 70th). Visibly out of form at the Euro with the Blues, he nevertheless seems to have found his form, like his acceleration in the 6th minute, which could even have allowed him to save a penalty after being held back in the area.
According to the heat map, #RealMadrid attacks 52% through the left side, with #Rodrygo, #Mbappeand #Come leading this effort, while only 20% of their attacks are through the middle and 27% through the right side.
But I have faith in #Ancelotti will figure out.
Map: @WhoScored pic.twitter.com/bMtRMVWpQZ— VAR (@var_review) August 19, 2024
In the Spanish capital, Mbappé joined three of his teammates in the French team: Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Ferland Mendy. The first was seriously injured before the match against Atalanta, the second delivered a disappointing performance against Mallorca, while the last one completely lost his temper in added time, cheerfully wiping his studs on Muriqi’s leg, which really ruined the evening for the French team at Real Madrid. The Blues from Madrid are therefore continuing the last Euro, which doesn’t really help the situation of the Meringues.
Real Madrid stumbles in Mallorca
