That Mbappé has a mental block is evident. It is weighing on him in several aspects of his game, especially in penalty shots and finishing. He is choosing poorly in one-on-ones with the goalkeeper and is not very precise in his technical gestures. He has nine goals in 87 shots. That is, an average of one goal every 9.6 shots. Very far from what is required of a top player. For example, Lewandowski accumulates 22 goals in just 65 shots (one goal every 2.9). But there are also football reasons. Its imbalance has decreased significantly. His average of good dribbles is two per game when at PSG he used to be above three. And that responds to three reasons: the first, the position. He has played most of the games in the center when he is not a player used to receiving pressure from all four sides but rather with his back covered (the wing).
Kylian Mbappe
The second, the physical. It’s just as fast, but not as powerful. It can be seen in its stop-start maneuvers. And the third, the game. Because Madrid 2024-25 is generating few favorable contexts for its characteristics. Without Kroos and with Modric losing prominence, the game is less orderly and of less variety. The changes of orientation have disappeared and the attacks do little to disrupt the defenses. The Frenchman has always been an over-the-top footballer but not a pure dribbler. He doesn’t have the short dribble of Vinícius, Lamine Yamal or Savinho. He needs some space behind his marker to activate the run. And right now, the balls that come to him are without that minimum of space. Furthermore, the white team’s transitions (an aspect in which it is most lethal) are discreet. The positional decline of Bellingham and Valverde means that Madrid is recovering the ball further back, forcing them to travel more meters and overcome more rivals. While Ancelotti’s men scored 15 goals on the counterattack last season, this year they have only five.
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