Almost the entire conversation in the build-up to Real Madrid’s game against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night was about the absence of Vinicius Jr, and what that would mean for Kylian Mbappe.
Some saw this as a make-or-break situation: If he can’t get going with the left wing to himself (with Rodrygo and Vinicius both out), he may never put it together. That may sound harsh, had you been told about this pseudo-ultimatum without context before the season started. ‘Mbappe only has nine goals and it’s the end of Novemeber? Ok, not great, but, he’s in a new league, probably experiencing some bad luck, and it’s still early.’ Nope. He has looked a shell of his former self, and it’s getting alarming, though the club may not admit it publicly.
Most within the club believe what’s going on with Mbappe is mental. I co-sign, and have been vocal for a while now that Mbappe’s problems have little to do with positioning and Vinicius, and more down to his own confidence levels.
One source who is at Real Madrid’s training sessions daily, from start to finish (not just the 15-minute media windows) told me that what has struck him most is that Mbappe’s speed is remarkable, but he’s also missing chances prolifically in training with out of control shots and tame hits — akin to Vinicius’s first season at Real Madrid. He looks a player not lost physically, but mentally.
(Real Madrid does a good job of publishing Mbappe’s goals, not misses, on social media.)
There is very little to get excited about as a Real Madrid fan when Mbappe receives the ball in stride on the left wing, right wing, or down the middle. He is fifth in the Big Five Leagues in successful take ons, but that is a bit deceiving — most of his dribbles are maneuvering with sharp cuts without getting anywhere. He rarely can explode past his man. When he does, there is even less confidence (both in him and those watching) that he can score.
The confidence has gotten worse as the season gone on. This is a mental decline rather than a physical one, which is why there is some optimism that he can pull it together, as difficult as it may be.
“It has happened many times that strikers find it hard to score and that disappoints them,” Carlo Ancelotti said about Mbappe after the game. “There is a medicine, which is to be patient. Be patient, because things will soon work out.
“Maybe (he lacks confidence) a little, but the idea should be to play simple, this is transitory. You can’t judge everything by missing a penalty.”
Real Madrid’s problem is that ‘transitory’ is vague, and there is little time to figure this out, and there’s no telling if Mbappe will figure it out, or when. Vinicius is out for about a month. Real Madrid are 24th in the Champions League standings. They will likely qualify for the knockouts, but it is no longer as straight-forward as it should’ve been.
But the main problem, the one that’s deeply rooted which Real Madrid are not talking about publicly, is that Mbappe is a huge liability if he isn’t attacking well. Ancelotti is used to attackers who work themselves into the ground on defense: Vinicius, Rodrygo, Brahim, Benzema, Bellingham — all of these players are / were reliable on defense. If they weren’t attacking well, there was plenty of room for forgiveness because of their relentless work rate.
Mbappe does not defend. Quite the opposite, he swings to the opposite end of the spectrum in an almost insulting lack of concern. He does not press or work to win the ball back. On several occasions at Anfield tonight his carelessness in giving away possession or failing to put pressure on Liverpool’s defenders ripped the team open. It is plays like those, which Mbappe causes far too often, that increases, unnecessarily, the burden on players like Bellingham, Camavinga, and Valverde. Courtois steps up. Raul Asencio did on several occasions — but it’s not sustainable to have a forward who acts as a defensive sieve while contributing nothing to the attack.
There is no way out of this. Mbappe is not an old star running out his contract. He is at Real Madrid, freshly arrived. He is not going to hit the bench. The only solution is for him to figure it out, and figure it out quickly.