Kylian Mbappé, the French striking sensation, has recently shown signs of faltering form, raising concerns among Real Madrid’s faithful fans. After a rather unconvincing start to his LaLiga tenure, Mbappé seemed to have found his rhythm, amassing an impressive tally of 28 goals and 5 assists. This performance solidified his status as the newfound darling of Bernabeu.
However, his recent lackluster displays in matches against Betis and Atlético have sparked worry, prompting Real Madrid coach Ancelotti to publicly defend his star player. Ancelotti cited Mbappé’s recent wisdom tooth removal, which interfered with his training schedule, as a possible reason for his dip in form.
“Kylian hasn’t been able to put in significant training hours as his wisdom tooth extraction disrupted his routine. His sub-par physical condition during the Betis match was quite apparent, and the recent game time, albeit underwhelming, will have been beneficial for him,” Ancelotti explained.
Football statistics don’t always paint an accurate picture, but the numbers from Mbappé’s last two performances provide a worrying insight for Madridistas. In both the LaLiga and UCL matches, Mbappé only managed one shot on target, a soft left-footed effort collected easily by Atletico’s goalkeeper Oblak.
In comparison to his teammates, Mbappé’s stats are notably lacking. For instance, he could not draw a single foul, while his fellow forward, Vinicius, managed to win four. In addition, he lost possession 12 times, marking his fourth-worst performance in this aspect since joining Real Madrid. The underwhelming stats continue, as he only won 2 out of 10 defensive duels.
His passing accuracy was also subpar, with the Frenchman recording the lowest percentage among outfield players at 82.5%. He managed to stay only slightly ahead of goalkeeper Courtois, who had a passing accuracy of 79.2%. More worryingly, none of his completed passes found a teammate in the opponent’s area.
In the dying moments of the Champions League derby against Atletico, Mbappé failed to connect with Vinicius, who was unmarked and in ample space. A successful pass would have likely resulted in a third goal, significantly denting Atletico’s chances of a comeback in the return leg.
Despite the recent slump, it’s worth noting that Mbappé has bounced back from a poor start before. Last year, following a disappointing performance in Bilbao, he confessed to having a ‘mental block.’ But he managed to turn things around, stating, “In Bilbao, I realized I couldn’t get any worse. That’s when I told myself, ‘you didn’t come to Madrid to play badly.'”
Madrid fans are hoping that the past two games were merely ‘accidents,’ complications arising from his wisdom tooth extraction. They eagerly anticipate the striker finding his form again in Sunday’s match against a weakened Rayo Vallecano.
Moreover, the upcoming Wednesday offers another chance for Mbappé to prove that his recent performances were just minor hiccups. Fans are hopeful that a strong display and potential goals from the French star will propel Madrid to the next stage of the competition, where Arsenal (unless PSV pulls off a historic comeback) awaits in the quarter-finals.
