Kylian Mbappe has yet to score in La Liga after three games against opponents rated lower than Real Madrid. According to Opta, the French superstar is the most wasteful striker in Europe so far. Mbappe has taken 17 shots in the past three games, achieving an expected goals (xG) of 1.8 but has yet to score.
After fitting the final piece of the puzzle with Kylian Mbappe, coach Carlo Ancelotti is hopeful that his new student will explode. When asked about the French striker after the draw with Las Palmas, Ancelotti said it had only been 14 days since his goal against Atalanta. However, if he continues to fail to score in the match against Real Betis this weekend, the former PSG captain will have a streak of 18 consecutive days without scoring.
Mbappe's disappointment was evident on his face when Jasper Cillessen blocked his powerful shot in the second half. After the match, Alberto Moleiro from the home team wanted to exchange shirts with Mbappe but the Real Madrid star refused. The reason given by Mbappe was that he had promised to give it to another Las Palmas player.
That calm and friendly demeanor was in stark contrast to the angry expression on his face when he shot 9 times towards Las Palmas' goal but still couldn't score. Mbappe even appeared quite angry with Vinicius Jr 3 times when he didn't receive a pass in a fairly open position.
After the match, Ancelotti said the current squad lacked balance. According to the Italian strategist, Los Blancos were confused in circulating the ball from the back line. Not only that, the players also had difficulty winning the ball back. The 65-year-old strategist said that Real Madrid needed to focus fully before this weekend's match if they did not want to be disappointed.
Also in the post-match press conference, Carletto spoke about his unchanged views from the summer transfer window of 2024. "Mr. Champions League" does not need any more new players. The current squad is considered complete when the players can comfortably fill in if the force is depleted due to injury.
If the transfer list is closed, from this weekend's home match, Ancelotti will have to find a way to clear the way for Mbappe. In the match against Las Palmas, Vinicius often moved inside to let Mbappe move to his preferred left wing. However, this method was not as effective as Mbappe later found opportunities on the right wing.
This suggests that it would be dangerous to play Vinicius and Mbappe close to the left flank, with Los Blancos’ two best strikers potentially clashing. A problem that seemed to have been solved in the summer has yet to be resolved for Ancelotti.
Mbappe will eventually score in his new La Liga shirt, but he needs to do it soon. With Barcelona still winning on the trot, inspired by Dani Olmo, Real Madrid will run out of steam if they slow down too much in the acceleration phase.
