Real Madrid’s new-look Galacticos have come under fire after just their first LaLiga match with their forwards warned to ‘focus’ after struggling against Mallorca.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were held to a limp 1-1 draw in their opener at the weekend with Kylian Mbappe unable to score on his league debut and Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo all delivering below-par performances.
Mbappe, lured from Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent this summer, was kept quiet down the middle of a three-man attack while Vinicius was ineffectual down the left and Rodrygo failed to make an impact on the opposite flank.
Bellingham, meanwhile, took up a left-sided role in midfield but frequently found himself crossing paths with his team-mates, creating a bottleneck that left Ancelotti raging at the final whistle over the lack of balance on show.
Spanish publication Marca were quick to jump on the same problem with their front page urging Mbappe and his team-mates in attack to sharpen up.
Real Madrid’s Galactico forwards were criticised after their limp 1-1 draw with Mallorca
Kylian Mbappe failed to make an impact on his LaLiga debut and encountered a major issue
As shown in Marca’s heat maps, four attackers drifted to the left-hand side during the game
The headline read ‘They have to focus’ with the outlet adding that the ‘heat map of the white attack against Mallorca shows a jam on the left flank’. The accompanying graphic showed the average positions of Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius and Rodrygo.
It was revealed that all four players tended to drift into pockets down the left, a lopsided system leaving gaping holes down the central and right-hand areas.
Bellingham took up wide positions halfway through Mallorca’s half while Mbappe operated on the left of the box, far from his role as the No 9. Both Vinicius and Rodrygo were also unable to stretch their opponents down the right.
Mbappe had made an instant impact for Los Blancos after scoring on his competitive debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta and Ancelotti started with the same attacking line-up, hoping for more of the same at the start of their title defence.
But after a stunted display from big-name arrival Mbappe, supporters were instead left concerned that his role down the middle does not make the most of his ability.
Jude Bellingham operated in a midfield three but Madrid struggled to stretch their opponents
Vinicius Junior was also part of the same bottleneck, leaving boss Carlo Ancelotti raging
Marca claimed that many believe his strengths lie in operating down the wings, where he is able to use his formidable pace and dribbling to cut inside and pose a threat.
Indeed, his best performances for PSG came from in wide positions.
Contrastingly, playing as the striker requires strong hold-up play and physicality up against defenders, a clash with Mbappe’s preference for touchline trickery.
Rodrygo had put Madrid ahead on 13 minutes but Mallorca clinched a well-earned point when Vedat Muriqi netted shortly after the half-time break.
Adding insult to injury, Madrid defender Ferland Mendy was sent off deep inside second-half stoppage time, reducing the visitors to 10 men for the final seconds.
‘Balance is found with players who think the same when we have to win the ball back,’ Ancelotti complained in a post-match interview.
Bellingham was seen inside the tunnel at half-time telling those in front of him to sharpen up
Ancelotti took aim at his side’s lack of balance and insisted his whole team must track back
‘We have to go all together. Everyone may think it’s a problem of the strikers, but it can also be a problem of the defenders or the midfielders.
‘They didn’t understand that this was a very important aspect.’
