When Kylian Mbappé dreamed of playing for Real Madrid, he surely imagined nights like Wednesday’s against Arsenal, with him as the star and scoring the goals his team needed to advance to the next round and begin writing the first pages of his history with Real Madrid. But the truth is that the Frenchman’s first year is proving to be more than disappointing. The photo of his withdrawal from the Champions League match sums up his first season at Real Madrid.
Mbappé’s nightmare against Arsenal
The Frenchman started the game like a rocket. In recent games, he had looked anxious, almost like at the start of the season, but of course, at a key moment in the season, any mistake can be very costly. That must have been what he was thinking when he left his teammates with ten men against Alavés with the whole game still to play. Luckily for him, the team saved a game in which only the result matters, because if you look at the rest…
Against Arsenal, it was a different kind of nightmare. As we said, he started off very focused, driving the ball forward and involved in the game from the outset, but he faded as the minutes passed, and perhaps he faded after the penalty he gave away, which, after just six minutes, was quickly overturned by VAR.
From that moment on, everything started to go dark. Real Madrid, although they hadn’t had a shot on target, were creating danger with their attacks, but from that moment on, everyone disappeared, including Mbappé.
Their worst moment came with 15 minutes to go, when only the most optimistic still believed in a miracle. In terms of intensity, he must have been one of them, but his momentum ended in a sprained ankle that put an end to the first big black night with Real Madrid. His departure from the field, that image, head down, is the story of his first year in white.
A bad season for Mbappé
Mbappé’s numbers this season show the player’s great potential, but they don’t hide the disappointment for Madrid fans. He was booed when he had to be substituted, despite being injured and despite his efforts. This is Real Madrid, where you can go from heaven to hell in the blink of an eye, from dream to nightmare in a very short space of time.
Mbappé started the season very anxious, lacking goals. From January onwards, we seemed to be seeing the best of him, in March he pulled the team forward like no one else, he carried the team on his shoulders, but in the last four games, it seems that the pressure and anxiety have got the better of him.
Gone is the Mbappé we saw with PSG or France, capable of picking up the ball anywhere on the pitch and finishing in the back of the net, a superior player, above the rest, destined to be the footballer who dominates the game in recent years. None of that. We have seen a very good footballer, capable of scoring many goals, but far from the star that is expected of him.
A lot has been expected of this player, many have swallowed hard, many have defended him, adored him… And this season he has shown nothing at all. It is his first season in white, surely the most difficult, especially knowing where we come from, the efforts made over seven years to sign him. Yes, there is a lot of pressure, but that is Real Madrid, a team where you have to be more mentally prepared. If you’re not, it doesn’t matter how well you play soccer.
At Real Madrid, no one doubts his potential, no one doubts that he can be the player we expect him to be. But he has a lot to prove if he wants to become a legendary Real Madrid player. One fact: without him, PSG is in the Champions League semifinals and is a strong contender to win it.