Kylian Mbappe’s difficult start to life at Real Madrid continued on Thursday evening as the defending champions were held to a forgettable 1-1 draw with Las Palmas.
An assist from former Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie opened the scoring for unfancied Las Palmas before Los Blancos found a late equaliser from a familiar source when Vinicius Junior converted a penalty. However, it was Mbappe who the crowd and viewers at home expected far more from.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward made the switch to the Spanish capital over the summer with the great expectation that he would soon be in the same conversation as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the sport’s all-time greats, but the reality has been stark.
After three La Liga games, the 25-year-old has yet to register a goal or assist. But while underlying statistics often save other underachieving forwards – especially so early into a fresh start – the details behind his most recent display will make for a concerning read for Madridistas, as there appears to be no sign of the Mbappe that the European champions were promised when they tied him down to a £12.8m base salary in June.
Kylian Mbappe’s Alarming Performance
He cut a frustrated figure in front of goal
Of course, it’ll be Mbappe’s absent goalscoring instinct that will make all the headlines over the coming days. In 377 club games throughout his career, the World Cup winner has scored a stunning 289 goals. But in his Madrid tenure so far, much of that confidence shown in the final third of the pitch for Monaco and PSG has been devoid.
Against Las Palmas, the Frenchman took a total of nine shots, with five of them being blocked, and only two hitting the target, suggesting a tinge of desperation to his efforts.
Yet, this isn’t the only area of Mbappe’s performance that needs to be scrutinised. He also only completed 50% of dribbles, while his 20 passes in 90 minutes only further exacerbated his negligible influence on proceedings. Watch his ‘highlights’ here:
Media outlets have duly reacted to Mbappe’s surprisingly unconvincing start. GOAL gave him a 4/10 in their player ratings piece on Thursday, while his FOTMOB rating made him a laughing stock on Twitter, as McBurnie achieved a higher rating on the night for the role he played in the unexpected opener.
Real Madrid Also Suffer Slow Start
It’s been a tricky start to Carlo Ancelotti’s title defence
As much as fans far and wide will pin most of the blame on Mbappe’s shoulders, as Los Blancos have stuttered out of the blocks since the start of the 2024-25 campaign, not many things have been going right for Real Madrid early into the new season.
The Super Cup win over Atalanta to kick things off now looks like somewhat of a red herring, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side only picking up one victory in the opening three league fixtures – a 3-0 home triumph over Real Valladolid.
Certainly, the club’s groundbreaking signing hasn’t lived up to his lofty expectations as yet, but much of this side is unchanged from last season’s Champions League and La Liga double-winning team, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, and Luka Modric still playing an active role in the continent’s most valuable squad.
As a result, the Santiago Bernebeau bosses would have expected much better from the Spanish giants, as they look to revive their efforts against Real Betis on Sunday.