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Alex Kirkland, ESPN FC
0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1: These are Kylian Mbappe’s last eight Real Madrid matches and the goals he scored during them. This is his worst goalscoring record at club level since 2021, and a streak that some impatient Madrid fans are asking about. Was this the reason for all the fuss?
Mbappe’s arrival last summer was Madrid’s most high-profile signing since Cristiano Ronaldo 15 years ago, with more than 70,000 fans packing the Bernabeu to welcome him. He was an established superstar who had reached his peak after flying in from Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent to take the Spanish and European champions to the next level.
At least that was the thought. The idea was that Mbappe would make a good team even better by scoring numerous goals as Madrid walked towards another league title. Instead, Mbappe is a third of the way through his first season at Real Madrid and, heading into Wednesday’s trip to Anfield against Liverpool, he is facing doubts he has never faced before.
Five of the 13 questions asked at manager Carlo Ancelotti’s press conference ahead of Sunday’s La Liga match at Leganes were about Mbappe. Journalists asked about his position on the pitch, his participation in training and even irresponsibly speculated about his mental health.
Mbappe’s exclusion from the last two France squads has intensified the scrutiny. National team coach Didier Deschamps pleaded with the media earlier this month to “leave (Mbappe) alone”, but his vague explanation for the team captain’s absence did not help. He said Mbappé wanted to play but decided differently.
you’re right. Ancelotti said “it’s only a matter of time” before Mbappé succeeds. The goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leganes came from the left-back’s new role and was a timely step in the right direction ahead of the Champions League clash with Liverpool. Madrid lost two of their first four games in the new league phase of the Champions League, allowing them to win at Anfield. Mbappe may issue a statement to silence his critics.
Ahead of the game, we take a look at Mbappé’s statistics this season to assess how he has underperformed and whether there is good reason to believe his poor start to the season may have just been a mistake.
scoring goal
Forget all the other statistics for a moment. Because Mbappe’s success or failure at Real Madrid will be determined by how many goals he scores. Madrid’s Jude Bellingham (19) and Vinicius Junior (15) were the top scorers in La Liga last season. Beating them would be the bare minimum, but if Mbappe comfortably tops that record (let’s say he scores 25 or 30 goals, as he has done over the last four seasons at PSG), it will depend on his work rate or how often he gets offsides. Complaints will be filed. , will soon be forgotten.
To date, Mbappe has scored 9 goals in 17 games for Real Madrid and 7 goals in 12 games in La Liga. This makes him Madrid’s second-highest scorer behind Vinicius, who has 12 goals in all competitions and eight in La Liga. Crucially, while Vinicius is outperforming expected goals (xG) and converting more chances than expected, Mbappe is doing the opposite. His seven league goals gave him an xG of 8.83. In the Champions League, the xG was even worse with 2.68, with 1 goal in 4 games.
Mbappé’s finishes aren’t usually this outrageous. At PSG, he overachieved xG in six consecutive Ligue 1 seasons between 2018 and 2024. Whether it’s nervousness, a desire to impress, positioning, opposition or other less tangible factors, he’s not quite as aloof now and his shot numbers support that assessment. In 12 La Liga games, Mbappe made 57 shots, the most of any player in the Spanish first division. The only player with more wins in Europe’s top five leagues is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (62). Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, La Liga’s top scorer with 15 goals, took 10 fewer shots than Mbappe in two games.
Of Mbappe’s 57 shots, only 27 were effective, recording a hit rate of 47.4%. This ranks Mbappé 125th out of 461 forwards in Europe’s top five leagues who have played five or more games in terms of effective shooting percentage. In La Liga alone, 21 forwards this season had higher shooting accuracy than Mbappe, including Celta Vigo’s Borja Iglesias (58.8%), Lewandowski (57.4%), and Real Betis’ Vitor Roque (55.6%).
Given these high numbers, Mbappe’s shot success rate is understandably low at 12.3%. This makes Mbappé LaLiga’s 48th most lethal forward this season and 230th among forwards in Europe’s top five leagues. To put this in context, Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sørloth, who has not been a consistent finisher this season, had a higher conversion rate (17.9%). Lewandowski’s percentage is impressive at 31.9%. Elsewhere, Haaland recorded 19.4%, Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson 25% and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane 30.4%.
It’s not like Mbappé regularly shoots from distance. 84.2% of his shots were taken inside the penalty box, and 73.7% of them were taken on his preferred right foot. But getting into a scoring position isn’t always easy. Mbappé’s timing was off, most notably in the 4-0 win in October. authoritative He suffered eight offsides in the loss to Barcelona, reaching an unwanted record. This is a career high and the joint-highest score by a La Liga player over the past 15 years.
create opportunities
Of course, it’s not about becoming a center forward for Real Madrid. only About scoring. Mbappe’s predecessor in Madrid’s number 9 jersey was Karim Benzema. He is a player who has built a reputation for his selfless combination play and raised the bar on what we can reasonably expect from the position. And Mbappe is not Benzema.
This season, Mbappe has created 13 significant chances in La Liga with a combination of key passes and assists. This compares to Barcelona’s Raphinha’s 44, who was an early candidate in the season. Madrid teammate Vinicius created 29 chances, more than twice as many as Mbappe. Antoine Griezmann and Lamine Yamal both created 26 chances. Of the 127 La Liga strikers who have played at least one minute this season, a total of 14 have created more chances than Mbappe. When narrowing the focus to “creating big chances” for teammates (defined as situations where a player is reasonably expected to score), Mbappé has just two in LaLiga. This figure is far behind Raphinha (14), Yamal (12), Griezmann and Vinicius (7).
Mbappe’s passing statistics are strong, reflecting Madrid’s possession advantage in all but two games this season. He has completed 300 of his 351 attempted passes in La Liga, with a success rate of 85.5%. Only five LaLiga forwards have completed more. Looking at a more useful statistic, progressive passes (passes that move the ball forward more than 10 yards or into the penalty area), he played 51 plays, behind only Griezmann, Iago Aspas, Yamal and Raphinha (17). Only % successful, but that ranks 23rd among LaLiga forwards in that category.
One of Mbappé’s biggest advantages over passing is his ability to always run forward with the ball at his feet. This season in La Liga he has made 113 progressive carries (defined as when a player moves the ball at least 5 meters towards goal) in the opposition half. Only four players have more: Vinicius, Real Betis’ Abde Etzaljuli, Yamal and Athletic Club’s Nico Williams.
Off the ball work
It would be easy and perhaps unfair to scoff at some of Mbappé’s more surprising defensive statistics this season. Just try to keep a straight face.
In 12 La Liga games, he made one tackle. In 1,025 minutes on the field, he had no clearances, no interceptions, and no shots blocked. He won only three aerial duels. He has recovered the ball just 17 times compared to Raphinha’s 45, Yamal’s 44 and team-mate Vinicius’ 31. If you add up the number of Mbappe’s “gross defensive interventions”, you’re effectively combining all of the above categories. This season, he ranks 18th in La Liga and 78th out of 127 strikers in the league. His 18 defensive interventions compare to Raphinha’s 80, Griezmann’s 62 and Lewandowski’s 56.
It is no surprise then that the ongoing and growing criticism of Mbappé has been directed at his contribution when Madrid have lost possession. A consistent stream of screenshots and video clips have been shared on social media, showing Mbappé slowly making his way back towards goal as his teammates race to tackle another opposition attack.
Mbappe has put pressure on opponents when he has possession 49 times this season. This ranks him 52nd among La Liga forwards in terms of pressure. 31 of those attempts were classified as “high-intensity” and only four of them resulted in Madrid getting the ball back. This compares to Vinicius applying pressure 140 times. Of those, 106 were high intensity and 46 were recovered. The 36-year-old Lewandowski also surpasses Mbappe here with 70 pressures and 18 recoveries.
Beyond Mbappé’s individual statistics, there is also the perception that his unwillingness to follow has been contagious and had an impact on the team as a whole. He and Vinicius are two of Celta’s three strikers, along with Aspas, who have spent the most time in La Liga this season. Mbappé spent 76% of his time on the pitch walking or jogging, but he also sprinted 35 times per game. This ranks him 22nd among LaLiga forwards, which is closer to where you’ll find players with explosive physicality.
Mbappe’s performance against Leganes on Sunday wasn’t all that great. He played 83 minutes for Butarque, scoring one goal and having another disallowed for offside. His goal, a simple, close-range tap-in, came from a pass from Vinicius, the first time he has provided an assist to Mbappe in La Liga this season. And at least in Madrid, Mbappe has emerged from a new role, starting on the left side of the attack and Vinicius running through the centre.
This is a positional switch that Ancelotti previously dismissed as unlikely given Vinicius’ world-class efficiency on the left. The coach pointed out the Brazilian star’s fatigue after the international break, explaining that he was more tired playing as a winger this time, while Mbappe was fresher than his team-mate. Perhaps we should take Ancelotti at his word, or maybe it’s just an excuse to finally justify putting Mbappe in the role where he played his best football.
“I started in a different position,” Mbappe said after the game. “But like I said on the first day I came here, I can play in many different positions… This is the story of my career. I can play on the right, left, up front. It doesn’t matter. All I want to do is play well and contribute to the team. “It helps and it scores goals.”
With Vinicius currently out injured for three to four weeks and unable to travel to Anfield, there will be even more pressure on Mbappe to do exactly that against Liverpool.
