Drought to Downpour?
Kylian Mbappe’s finally off the mark at Real Madrid, but the race is only just beginning.
This is a guest article by Chirag Sharatkumar. Subscribe to Sideline Stories.
Kylian Mbappe stood on the edge of the Santiago Bernabeu pitch, arms up in the air, with a merciful grin on his face and breathing a sigh of relief. It was as if the weight of the world had finally been lifted.
His “goal drought” was over, not that it ever truly began. But it’s fair to say it wasn’t quite the dream start Mbappe would have been hoping for at Real Madrid.
Much had been made of Mbappe’s arrival in Madrid, and why not, considering it was seven years in the making. Long before he was presented, there was already talk of how he would fit in and where he would play. Carlo Ancelotti provided the simple answer — “in the attack.”
But it has been anything but simple. The Frenchman has endured a challenging start to his LaLiga career. Madrid have played four league matches so far; two wins and two draws. Mbappe went scoreless in three of these, until he finally picked up a brace in Sunday’s fixture against Real Betis.
While he has struggled, it has not been for lack of trying. Mbappe has taken 25 shots, nine of them on target, more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.
Madrid have, to their credit, created plenty of chances, with Mbappe on the end of many of them. The story isn’t that he was not connecting; it’s that he was connecting, just too much, too often, and in all the wrong ways.
In truth, Mbappe’s early days in Madrid have been marked by a palpable sense of effort, not just from him, but from the entire team. You can see it in every dribble, run, cross and shot. It’s exhilarating, but at the same time, so fragile.
They all want it, nobody more than Mbappe himself, but you get the sense that they’re just trying too hard. That he wants it almost so badly that it’s remained just out of his reach.
It’s a strange paradox — the desire to succeed can sometimes be the very thing that keeps success at bay. It’s clear looking at this Madrid side that talent was never going to be a problem. No, the issue here seems to be one of harmony, expectation, and perhaps confidence.
There’s also the tactical challenge. Madrid’s biggest struggles have historically been against well-drilled low blocks. Against the deep, compact defensive units of Mallorca, Real Valladolid and Las Palmas, Madrid’s attack looked stifled and constrained, much more than it should be.
There’s been little room offered for Mbappe and Vinicius Junior to exploit, no spaces to run into or gaps to tear apart. Jude Bellingham only played in the opening game, and has been missing since due to injury. And while the chemistry between Mbappe and his new team-mates is growing impressively; there have been flashes of brilliance and moments of synergy, it’s still just that: growing.
We are yet to see them concretely against any other defensive structures, but if their outing in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta is anything to go by, in an open field, they should look and feel significantly more comfortable.
What undoubtedly makes this all the more complex is that while the world’s focus is on Mbappe, another, perhaps even more significant problem is playing out in the background. Toni Kroos, the conductor of Madrid’s midfield for so many years, has retired, and in his absence, the team is struggling to click without him, to retain possession and control.
Kroos wasn’t just a player; he was the pulse of the team, the dictator, the tempo-setter. He was the linchpin that connected the defense, midfield and attack. No one can do what he did, Ancelotti himself has admitted it, so Madrid are not looking for a replacement. Instead, they are learning to play another way, with experiments and adjustments to find that perfect rhythm.
It’s hard not to get the sense that maybe, just maybe, everyone, Mbappe included, thought that this, all of this, would be easier than it has been. That Mbappe would hit the ground running and effortlessly propel Madrid to the heights they’ve always known. It’s proving to be difficult, not least because someone like Kroos is missing, but also because football is anything but easy.
And yet, on Sunday against Betis, something shifted. Mbappe found himself in the right place at the right time, courtesy of an outrageously beautiful backheel pass from Federico Valverde, and the ball finally found the back of the net.
The relief was tangible, the joy unmistakable.
Nine minutes later, he eagerly added a second through a spot-kick. It was almost as if he had to make up for lost time, and when he was substituted late on, the standing ovation he has no doubt been dreaming of, arrived.
It’s easy to forget that this is still a team finding itself. Only four games in, and already the weight of expectation and the possibility of disappointment hangs heavy. Madrid know that they will have to suffer, that they won’t win every game and that they are not invincible or perfect, even with Mbappe and despite the weight of expectation.
It’s a process and it will, as it always does, take time. Many rival fans hope that this team will implode like the Galacticos of old, a short but sweet flash in the pan. But that doesn’t seem likely.
And so, the story continues. Madrid will find their way, and Mbappe his. It won’t be easy, it may not always be pretty, but it certainly will be entertaining.
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