Kylian Mbappé’s first El Clásico with Real Madrid turned into a nightmare, as the team suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a tough outing for Mbappé, who made some unwanted history. The first half ended without any goals, but in the 31st minute, he thought he had put Madrid ahead. Unfortunately for him, a VAR review overturned the goal for offside.
Things went from bad to worse for the former PSG star and Real Madrid as they watched Barcelona celebrate four goals in the second half. Veteran Robert Lewandowski struck twice in quick succession, scoring in the 54th and 56th minutes. Lamine Yamal added another in the 77th minute, followed by Raphinha’s goal in the 84th.
This loss leaves Real Madrid six points behind Barcelona in La Liga after 11 matches, raising questions about the team’s direction. Carlo Ancelotti has a lot to sort out following this disappointing performance, and critics have been questioning Mbappé’s role in the team.
Real Madrid criticized for pursuing Kylian Mbappé
ESPN FC’s Craig Burley didn’t hold back, criticizing Real Madrid for changing their successful formula to accommodate Mbappé.
Burley said, “When somebody’s getting caught offside as much as that, and we’ve talked about it all game, ridiculous in the end. Ridiculous. To continue to be in offside positions, when you have that level of understanding of the game and experience. He wasn’t the only one, but the biggest culprit.
“I suppose at Real Madrid it’s happened a lot. You sign these Galacticos, these big stars, you’ve got to sort of find a way to get it right. But they’ve basically taken, again, another side that was fluid and very successful and ripped up that blueprint and moved a load of people around to try and make it work for Kylian Mbappe.
“And yes, they’re only a few points behind, but we’ve seen all the performances, we’ve seen the games. Thus far, it is not working.
“They had no midfield runners to try and break an offside trap, and they had one guy who was trying to break it for 95 minutes, and he couldn’t do it.”
It’s been a challenging start for Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid. If he can’t turn things around soon, he risks being compared to Eden Hazard, whose move to Real Madrid from Chelsea ultimately fell flat.
