In the 3-0 victory over Valladolid, the expected stars in attack, specifically the trio of Kylian Mbappe - Vinicius Jr - Rodrygo, did not score. Los Blancos' goals were scored by Fede Valverde, Brahim Diaz and young talent Endrick.
Before the match, Mbappe's number 9 shirt was bought and worn tightly by Real Madrid fans in the Bernabeu stands. In his first home match, the French star played well but not excellently. Thus, after the first two official matches in La Liga, the former PSG striker has not been able to score.
Mbappe warms up against Valladolid in the familiar "number 9" position. He has had many combinations with Valverde on the right wing and continuously found positions behind the opponent's defense. With this style of play, the 25-year-old star had some notable situations but could not score.
One of the problems when playing as a center forward has been revealed for Mbappe. There were many situations where he had to turn his back on the opponent's goal to receive the ball. This is a concern that has caused Mbappe to show his disloyalty many times. In other times when running around at high speeds, it seems that his teammates did not see the Los Blancos striker move.
Seeing that performance of his student, coach Carlo Ancelotti did not think it was a defect. The Real Madrid captain believes Mbappe will soon make his La Liga debut. With Carletto, Mbappe still had stable runs, guaranteed speed and was lacking in luck.
The person who came on to replace Mbappe in the final minutes of the second half was Endrick. Last week, the 18-year-old Brazilian striker was caught up in rumors of possibly leaving the Bernabeu to find a new destination on loan when he could not compete for a position. However, with just a few minutes on the pitch, Selecao's speed boy broke all doubts with a powerful right-footed shot into the corner near the goal, sealing the score at 3-0 in the 90+6 minute.
Endrick is very strong and is resistant to double hand collisions, that is the clearest mark. Seeing this performance, Ancelotti can rest assured about a good backup plan for Mbappe in the context of Real Madrid having to play in many tournaments. Ancelotti also did not rule out the possibility of cutting Endrick to serve secondary arenas such as Copa del Rey or Supercopa alone.
As for Endrick, when he decided to wear the white shirt of the Galaticos, he clearly understood that he would have to face some challenges to have the opportunity to play. This young striker has a very long journey ahead, accompanied by countless opportunities to score points in the eyes of Ancelotti and fans.
Before Endrick, Arda Guler was also rumored to have been involved in similar rumors when he could not compete for a position. However, Guler chose to stay and show himself, and was eventually given more conditions by Ancelotti.
This weekend, in round 3, Real Madrid will visit Las Palmas. It is expected that the defending European champion will continue to pocket 3 more points. This is also an opportunity for Mbappe to find his first goal in his career in the La Liga arena.
