Are Real Madrid in danger of becoming ‘the Kylian Mbappé team’?

Spanish newspaper headlines were as predictable as they were unequivocal following Real Madrid’s 5-2 humiliation at the hands of city rivals Atlético Madrid at the weekend.

“Manita histórica,” declared Marca, an allusion to the Spanish term for a five-goal victory – a “little hand”, one finger for each goal. “Fiesta mayor” – “Big party” – blared AS, beneath a picture of Diego Simeone and his players celebrating triumph over “the worst version of Madrid”. “Manotazo” – “Slap” – trumpeted the pro-Barcelona publication Sport with a glee that became all the greater when Hansi Flick’s side saw off Real Sociedad on Sunday to take over at the top of La Liga.

For Xabi Alonso, who replaced his Brazil-bound predecessor Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabéu this summer, defeat brought the honeymoon period to a crashing conclusion.

The six straight La Liga wins that preceded Saturday’s visit to the Metropolitano were consigned firmly to history as Atlético put five goals past their city neighbours for the first time since 1950.

How Real Madrid have placed the accent on youth under Xabi Alonso

Madrid being Madrid, the result will leave a lasting stain on Alonso’s early work in the Spanish capital. The manner of the defeat exposed the fault lines in the Spaniard’s team, where the accent has been placed firmly on youth following Ancelotti’s perceived over-reliance on more established players.

The starting lineup included summer signings Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras, respectively aged 20 and 22, as well as 20-year-old Turkish attacker Arda Güler. Among the substitutes were Raúl  Asencio and Eduardo Camavinga, both aged 22, and the 18-year-old Argentina midfielder Franco Mastantuono. Nobody could accuse Alonso of hiding behind experience. 

Kylian Mbappé remains Real Madrid’s main man

Not for the first time this season, though, it was the more experienced figure of attacking talisman Kylian Mbappé who provided Madrid’s chief source of inspiration.

It was the 26-year-old France international who levelled for the visitors after Robin Le Normand’s early opener and, for all the debate around Vinícius Junior’s role in the team under Alonso, it is Mbappé’s clinical finishing that has defined the club’s early season form.

He has scored more than half of Madrid’s goals to date – 10 of 18 across eight games, including two penalties in a 2-1 Champions League win over Marseille – and he is delivering one goal for every three shots in La Liga.

Across the major European leagues, only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, respectively of Bayern Munich and Manchester City, have bettered Mbappé’s goals-per-game ratio of 1.14.

Are Real Madrid too dependent on Kylian Mbappé?

The numbers beg an obvious question: are Madrid overdependent on Mbappé?

A hallmark of Alonso’s nascent tenure has been his emphasis on the collective. Yet only four players other than the Frenchman have contributed goals this season and, as Alonso has pointed out, more will be required if the perennial target of La Liga and Champions League success is to be achieved.

“Kylian really likes to understand things, the game,” the Spaniard reflected on the eve of Madrid’s European opener against Marseille. “Then he brings that individual quality. But it’s not just Kylian, Vinícius Jr or Rodrygo – we need that collective quality for [Madrid] to achieve those special things.”

Collective quality was in short supply against Atlético but, if there was a minor positive to be taken from the defeat, it was perhaps that Vinícius – who laid on a goal for Güler with a slide-rule pass – completed 90 minutes for the first time under Alonso.

Does the Kylian Mbappé -Vinícius Junior partnership hold the key for Real Madrid?

Even Ancelotti was unable to find a way of getting Vinícius and Mbappé to dovetail effectively in attack. Solving that conundrum promises to be no less challenging for his successor, but keeping the pair on the pitch for a full match – even a moral-sapping defeat – feels like a start.

A notable feature of Mbappé’s play this season has been a greater willingness to pitch in for the good of the team. The Frenchman’s defensive work-rate, chance creation stats and pass completion rate have all increased, while he showed a newfound adaptability in Madrid’s league win at Oviedo, where he effectively operated as a No 10 (but still scored two goals).

Unconvinced of Alonso’s faith in him, Vinícius has appeared more reluctant to buy into the Spaniard’s methods. Work remains, but if Alonso can get the gifted Brazilian on board, it can only bolster Madrid’s prospects. For all the misery endured at the Metropolitano, Saturday marked a first tentative step in that direction.