Football often serves up dramatic narratives, but Kylian Mbappé`s first encounter against his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, since his high-profile move to Real Madrid delivered drama of the distinctly unwanted kind for Los Blancos. The Club World Cup semifinal scoreline read 4-0 to PSG – a result as jarring as it was decisive. For Mbappé, making his first start post-recovery, it was a particularly quiet night, marked effectively out of a game where Real Madrid`s attack simply failed to fire.
Pinpointing the issues in such a comprehensive defeat is rarely simple, but on this occasion, the tactical blueprint deployed by Xabi Alonso seemed… suboptimal. Forced into a more traditional 4-4-2 shape due to key absences in defense and midfield, Real Madrid appeared rigid, predictable, and alarmingly easy to contain. With Mbappé alongside Gonzalo Garcia, both forwards found themselves isolated, receiving minimal service. Mbappé registered just 27 touches, Vinícius Júnior even fewer at 21. This isn`t merely poor performance; it`s a systemic failure to get the ball to your most dangerous players in dangerous areas.
This static setup, perhaps ironically, echoed some of the difficulties Real Madrid faced under Carlo Ancelotti last season when coming up against Europe`s elite – a system effective enough against lesser opposition, but one that struggles for oxygen and creativity when pressed by top-tier teams. The defense-to-attack transition was non-existent, leading to a stale, easily defended structure.
The irony, of course, is that Real Madrid had navigated the earlier stages of this very tournament with considerably more fluidity and purpose. Their success had been built upon a hybrid system, oscillating between a 4-4-2 diamond and a back three, allowing the wing-backs like Francisco Garcia and Trent Alexander-Arnold license to push high and wide. This approach, bearing a notable resemblance to Alonso`s successful tactical signature at Bayer Leverkusen, breathed life into the squad, creating space and chances with relentless attacking width. Players previously considered peripheral suddenly looked vital within this structure.
The key difference lies in space and service. The traditional back four, particularly when lacking attacking impetus from wide areas, compresses the play and allows defenses to double-team key threats like Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior with relative ease. The more expansive, hybrid formation stretches opponents horizontally and vertically, creating crucial pockets of space for the attacking talent to exploit. Furthermore, it empowers players capable of delivering precise, line-breaking passes from deeper or wider areas – a skill set particularly associated with someone like Alexander-Arnold, whose delivery is a mouth-watering prospect for any forward.
Consider this: even operating at times in a system that wasn`t always perfectly tailored to his strengths last season, Kylian Mbappé still netted an impressive 43 goals for Real Madrid. Now, envision him consistently receiving the ball with space to run into, fed by incisive passes from creative wing-backs and midfielders. The potential for that tally to swell significantly is undeniable. Breaking the 50-goal barrier in a single season, a feat of rare prolificacy, suddenly seems not just possible, but a very real probability – provided, that is, Real Madrid commits to the tactical approach that actually unleashes its star power.
The humbling defeat to PSG was a stark reminder that even the best players can be neutralized by the wrong strategy. But it also served, perhaps unintentionally, as a tactical roadmap: stick to the system that creates space and transition, leverage the attacking potential from deep, and Kylian Mbappé won`t just score goals; he`ll score a lot of them. Sometimes, you have to lose spectacularly to remember how you were winning before.
Dominic Ashworth