Coach Carlo Ancelotti felt that the Spanish champions lacked “balance” after Real Madrid’s La Liga debut by Kylian Mbappe ended in a draw at Mallorca last weekend. At the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, the French sensation will make his debut for Los Blancos at home against Real Valladolid, a team owned by former Real Madrid forward and legendary Brazilian player Ronaldo.
Mbappe is expected to leave a similarly significant football legacy, but he wants to have considerably more of an influence at Real Madrid than Ronaldo did during the team’s “galactico” period.
Ronaldo played five seasons in the Spanish capital between 2002 and 2007, winning just one La Liga championship and failing to win the Champions League.
One of the main issues at the time was a top-heavy team that had lost Claude Makelele, their pivotal player, but still had multiple great strikers.
In the 2-0 UEFA Super Cup victory against Atalanta and the 1-1 tie with Mallorca, Ancelotti started Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, and Jude Bellingham. However, following both games, he criticized his team’s balance.
Ancelotti told reporters last week, “We just had to do better, with more attitude, you can learn from these games – it’s clear where the problem is.”
“We need to defend better, we need more balance.”
The fact that Mbappe, Vinicius, and Rodrygo all want to be moved to the left wing presents a problem for Madrid.
Another is that Bellingham, who is happy to contribute in offensive areas following last season’s fantastic rookie campaign where he helped Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League, is forced back into a midfield role by playing all three attackers.
“(Balance) is found by all players thinking the same thing – when it comes to getting the ball back we all have to think about it together,” stated the coach from Italy.
“It’s a team problem that they didn’t understand was a key aspect in this game, Mallorca played a great game in a defensive sense, better than us.”
Although Real Valladolid, who defeated fellow promoted team Espanyol in their opening game, does not appear to represent a major threat to Real Madrid, Ancelotti will be happy if his squad can get back on track as quickly as possible.
Mbappe fulfilled his dream move this summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract, capping years of rumors linking him to Real Madrid.
The attacker scored a clinical goal against Atalanta in Warsaw, but Mallorca and goalie Dominik Greif kept him out.
After being welcomed by more than 80,000 supporters during his presentation, Mbappe will want to score on his first-ever appearance for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the coming weeks.
Madrid’s attackers are hard for any team to stop when they are clicking.
The offensive foursome known as the “fantastic four” might be stopped by teams that are up to the task, making Madrid’s incredible firepower a double-edged sword.
Coach Paulo Pezzolano of Valladolid stated, “We’re going to face the best team in the world, with one of the best coaches in history and the best attack in the world today.”
“We know what we’re going to face, but we’re going there convinced that we’re going to compete and bring something back home, knowing that it’s difficult, but that we can do it.”
Player to watch: Julian Alvarez
The former Manchester City striker made his Atletico debut against Villarreal as a substitute in their first game, but he may play a larger part on Sunday against Girona when he makes his debut for Diego Simeone’s revamped Rojiblancos at the Metropolitano stadium.
Key stats
0 – Real Valladolid was the only La Liga team to remain goalless during the first round of games.
Two-time division leader Robert Lewandowski leads all scorers with a brace versus Valencia.
17-Out of 285 Spanish players, French players were the most represented nationality in the first week of play.
Fixtures
Friday (all times GMT)
Celta Vigo v Valencia (1700), Sevilla v Villarreal (1930)
Saturday
Osasuna v Real Malloca (1500), Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao (1700), Espanyol v Real Sociedad, Getafe v Rayo Vallecano (both 1930)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Valladolid (1500), Leganes v Las Palmas (1700), Alaves v Real Betis (1715), Atletico Madrid v Girona (1930)
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