Real Madrid is in a real crisis!

Mbappe's PLAY IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE.

After more than an hour of play, Real Madrid finally had their first shot on target in their 0-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League. Of course, it had to be on target, because it was… a penalty. But Kylian Mbappe still couldn't score. Mbappe is the epitome of Real Madrid's current lackluster performance: not only did they lose, but it was a defeat with no, or perhaps no, solution in sight.

Real Madrid has no way out yet.

This was Real's third defeat in five matches, leaving them 24th out of 36 in the Champions League standings. Teams below 24th place will be eliminated when the "league" phase concludes after eight rounds.

At the press conference before last weekend's La Liga match, coach Carlo Ancelotti was asked 13 questions, five of which were about Mbappe. One question was even somewhat irresponsible: whether Mbappe was suffering from some kind of mental health issue? That's Mbappe at the club level. As for the French national team, coach Didier Deschamps has left Mbappe out of the squad for the last two matches. He is considering stripping Mbappe of the captaincy. And he reacted angrily when the press kept asking about Mbappe: "Leave him alone!"

At least Mbappe scored in La Liga last weekend, and that goal seems to support coach Ancelotti's answer: "Just give him a little more time, and Mbappe will score again, and everything will be fine." In reality, scoring to help Real win 3-0 against weaker opponent Leganes is a detail that easily creates illusion. Before Leganes, Real beat Osasuna 4-0. In La Liga, many smaller teams tend to "give up" when facing Real or Barcelona. They would rather concentrate their efforts on fighting equally matched opponents. At Real's level, only big matches truly provide an accurate picture.

Trouble is coming from all directions.

Real suffered a comprehensive defeat against a Liverpool side that didn't necessarily need to win (Liverpool still have a much more important match against Manchester City this weekend). Coach Ancelotti commented on the missed penalty: "It's because Mbappe lacked a bit of confidence." That's too easy to say, because Mbappe certainly can't be confident at this time. He's only scored one goal in his last six games (that meaningless goal against Leganes). But, besides the lack of confidence, is Mbappe genuinely lacking in confidence? This isn't the first time Mbappe has missed a penalty.

Everyone knows that Real Madrid has been weakened over the past few weeks due to injuries. Just before the match against Liverpool, Real fans were distraught when Vinicius Junior joined the already depleted injury list, which included David Alaba, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni, Rodrygo, and Dani Carvajal. Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde were doubtful. Thibaut Courtois had only just recovered. Now, Eduardo Camavinga has also been injured in the defeat against Liverpool, and it's unclear how long he will be out. Camavinga is considered irreplaceable in the Real Madrid squad. Coach Ancelotti is very experienced, and his son, Davide Ancelotti, is a formidable assistant. But losing half the team to injury is something they've never experienced before.

In terms of playing style, everyone doubted the possibility of success when Real Madrid strengthened their already star-studded attack with Mbappe. The problem wasn't simply having another big star as a backup. Mbappe is excellent, provided he has the support of his teammates and plays in a well-structured system. He's not the type of star who is both intelligent and experienced enough to single-handedly turn the tide (like Luka Modric). And he's only good playing on the left wing, which is Vinicius's domain. On one hand, Real Madrid hasn't yet introduced any distinctive tactics to fully utilize their attacking stars. On the other hand, while the forward line is still not gelling, a bigger problem arises in the midfield. No one can fill the huge void left by Toni Kroos. And Real Madrid's leadership has to deal with new pressure, stemming from the issues surrounding Mbappe or Kroos: how is the management of the team making Real Madrid so mediocre in the transfer market?

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/real-madrid-thuc-su-khung-hoang-185241128214715155.htm