In the 3-0 victory over Valladolid, the expected stars in attack, specifically the trio Kylian Mbappe - Vinicius Jr - Rodrygo, all failed to score. Los Blancos' goals were made by Fede Valverde, Brahim Diaz and young talent Endrick.
Before the match, a series of Mbappe's number 9 shirts were bought and worn by Real Madrid fans, filling the Bernabeu stands. In his first home game, the French star played not bad but not excellent. Thus, after the first two official matches in La Liga, the former PSG striker has still not been able to score.
Mbappe started the match against Valladolid in the familiar "number 9" position. He had many combinations with Valverde on the right wing and constantly found positions behind the opponent's defense. With this way of playing, the 25-year-old star had a number of notable situations but could not score.
One of the problems when playing as a center forward has appeared with Mbappe. In many situations, he had to turn his back to the opponent's goal to receive the ball. This is the shortcoming that makes Mbappe confused many times. On other occasions when running at high speed, it seemed like his teammates did not see the Los Blancos center forward move.
Seeing his student's performance, teacher Carlo Ancelotti did not consider it a defect. Real Madrid's captain believes that sooner or later Mbappe will make his debut in La Liga. With Carletto, Mbappe still has good runs, guaranteed speed and just lacks luck.
The person who came on to replace Mbappe in the last minutes of the second half was Endrick. Last week, the 18-year-old Brazilian striker was caught up in rumors that he could leave the Bernabeu to find a new home on loan when he could not compete for a position. However, with only a few minutes on the field, the Selecao prodigy shattered all doubts with a powerful right foot shot into the corner near the goal, setting the score 3-0 in the 90+6 minute.
Endrick is very strong and endures hand-to-hand contact, which is the clearest mark. Looking at this performance, Ancelotti can be assured of a good backup plan for Mbappe in the context of Real Madrid having to play many tournaments. Ancelotti also does not rule out the possibility of cutting Endrick to exclusively serve secondary arenas such as Copa del Rey or Supercopa.
As for Endrick, when he was determined to wear the white shirt of the Galaticos, he understood what challenges he would have to face 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 the fans.
Before Endrick , Arda Guler also had similar rumors when he couldn't compete for a position. However, Guler chose to stay and express himself, finally being given more conditions by Ancelotti.
This weekend in round 3, Real Madrid will visit Las Palmas. It is expected that the reigning European champions will continue to pocket 3 more points. This is also an opportunity for Mbappe to find the first goal of his career in La Liga .
