"Those are numbers. The most important thing is to win the title. Scoring is important, but if we don't win the title, it's not worth it."
Those were the statements of Kylian Mbappe in March this year. And two months later, Real Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League, losing in the Copa del Rey final. They are all but set to become former La Liga champions after a crazed defeat at Montjuic. Los Blancos are 7 points behind Barcelona while the tournament has only 3 rounds left.
Mbappe has now scored 39 goals in all competitions this season. This is an impressive number, breaking the club's record, almost undeniable. But unless he wins the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, Mbappe will end the 2024-2025 campaign empty-handed.
The French striker scored when Real Madrid won the European Super Cup, scoring again when they won the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. Mbappe has also shined in defeats in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey.
In the Champions League, the highlight was Madrid's hat-trick in the play-off against Manchester City. And in the match that decided the La Liga title against Barcelona, Mbappe scored a hat-trick again and could score a fourth goal in extra time to change the result. However, the Frenchman's efforts were disallowed for offside.
Mbappe's numbers are very good, and his performance in the final El Clasico of the 2024-2025 season was extremely great. Mbappe's accurate movement and finishing ability punished Barcelona's notorious high defense. But according to Mbappe himself, that was not enough.
Mbappe spent too much time at Paris St Germain scoring many goals, but could not win the Champions League. With his talent and ambition, Mbappe needs a better destination. The 26-year-old striker decided to move to the Bernabeu to change his fate.
Therefore, despite scoring more than 39 goals this season, his campaign will be largely considered a disappointment. Mbappe is extremely excellent, it's a pity that his teammates are not good enough.
Looking at how Barcelona destroyed Real Madrid in the final minutes of the first half, it seemed they could have scored at any time. If there is any moment that summarizes Los Blancos' defensive weakness, it is the image of Lucas Vazquez losing the ball regrettably in the 45th minute. Raphinha did not hesitate with the "gift" given by the Real captain to score.
For Real Madrid, there is a terrible " disguise". This is not the first time Barcelona have easily scored 4 consecutive goals this season against Real Madrid. In fact, this happened three times in the four El Clasicos.
Barca did that in the second half at the Bernabeu last October, scoring four goals in half an hour. They did it again in the first half of the Spanish Super Cup final, with four goals in 33 minutes. And they continued to suffer Real's defense at Montjuic, with 4 goals in 26 minutes.
"We attacked well, scored 3 goals and had two more goals but were disallowed for offside. However, in key moments, we made mistakes in defense and paid the price.
Remember that Real Madrid are missing up to 5 defenders due to injury. That clearly affects how we organize the defense," said Carlo Ancelotti after the loss to Barcelona.
