Kylian Mbappe was hiding in the background while Xabi Alonso soliloquised. It was just after the opening game of the Champions League group phase. Mbappe had pieced together a remarkable Blancos rescue act, scoring twice to overturn a 1-0 deficit (and he might have had one or two more.) Alonso was singing his praises. He hailed Mbappe's "incredible impact", and promised that they were "just getting started.” And then, as he realised Mbappe was in the room – just out of the shot – he tailed off.
It was a funny moment, but one that encapsulates the Alonso-Mbappe dynamic this season. Thus far, the Spaniard has made Mbappe the centre of his team, the focal point Mbappe perhaps always wished he could be. But, as with the rest of this Madrid team, Alonso has also been remarkably stern. Mbappe has not been allowed to dictate this team. Instead, he has been asked to play in different roles, embrace various styles – and trust that the goals will come as a result.
And in the early goings of the season it seems that the two have an excellent working relationship. Mbappe trusts Alonso. Alonso trusts Mbappe. Madrid might just have unlocked the Frenchman's best in cultivating that partnership.
AFPA difficult first season
It is worth remembering, first, how we got here. Mbappe's first season at Madrid was a strange one. The raw numbers were nothing short of staggering. He bagged 31 goals in La Liga and 42 in all competitions. He set the record for the most goals in a debut season for the club and won the European Golden Boot. He established himself as the only Madrid player to score in seven different competitions in a single season.
This is the elite goalscorer Madrid knew they had signed. But the bigger picture isn't so flattering. Madrid may have gotten goals out of Mbappe, but they got little else.
It wasn't just a lack of assists as much as the way he failed to work as part of the collective. He didn't press. He didn't run. He invaded spaces that others liked to operate in. For a lot of the season, it felt like Mbappe scoring lots of goals while 10 others watched.
The result was a team-wide failure, Madrid finishing second in La Liga, being bounced from the Champions League, and going a full season without a major trophy. It cost Carlo Ancelotti his job, and threw the rest of the side into jeopardy.
AdvertisementAFPClub World Cup questions
It all left things a little uncertain. The Club World Cup always felt like a bit of a wash for Madrid. They might have retooled before the tournament, but there was an overwhelming sense that they were an incomplete side, outmatched by whomever they faced.
Paris Saint-Germain beat them in the semi-final emphatically, and it really wasn't much of a surprise. After that game, Los Blancos' media team didn't make a single player available to awaiting journalists.
Mbappe was hospitalised for a few days during the group stage, but still managed to appear in all three knockout games. In fairness, he grabbed a signature moment, burying an acrobatic volley late on to defeat a resilient Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final. But he turned in an anonymous showing in the semis against his former club, going 90 minutes without having a real impact.
In fact, the real star of that tournament for Madrid was someone who operated in Mbappe's position. Gonzalo Garcia, a little known academy striker heading into the tournament, paced Madrid's attack during the group stage, scoring in each of Los Blancos' first three games. There was scattered talk that with Vinicius Jr and Mbappe dueling for two spots, he could also make a push.
Getty Images'Kylian understands football very well'
Alonso did away with those concerns from day one. Mbappe has started every single game for Madrid thus far, and played all-but 16 minutes of Los Blancos' perfect start to the season.
Nominally, he has operated as a striker, but Alonso has been flexible in the way he has used him. Indeed, the manager relies heavily on positional play, asking his side to fill individual tasks within a position. Against Osasuna, in the first week of the season, Mbappe played much like a traditional striker – staying mostly central, and offering a run off the last defender when Madrid had a chance to hit on the break. He grabbed the only goal in a slightly unconvincing 1-0 win.
But he has filled other roles, too. Against Espanyol, he started up front with Garcia. It seemed a confusing set-up. But instead of having two alongside each other, Alonso used Mbappe as a second striker of sorts, linking play and working in coordination with the midfield.
"Today he played in a more different role, as a playmaker," Alonso explained after the game. "We talked about the responsibility he had to be closer to Urko (Gonzalez de Zarate). On (Marko) Dmitrovic’s long balls, that superiority was important. Kylian understands football very well. Today in his role, in a different position, as a second striker, he did very well."
It would perhaps be a bit premature to dub Mbappe a "complete striker". There is a long way to go on that front. But his improvements are clear to see.
Getty ImagesThe impressive numbers
But more than anything, Mbappe is a goalscorer. That's why he's here. Sure, Madrid can try to tinker with more versatile genres of him, ask him to do different things against different teams; that's just good coaching. But getting Mbappe into positions where he can put the ball into the net is absolutely vital. And the stats there aren't bad, either.
Mbappe has scored seven in six games. He bagged two against Levante in a 4-1 win, two against Oviedo in a 3-0 win, and played a crucial role in a signature Champions League comeback. He has scored or assisted in all but one of Los Blancos' contests so far.
The underlying numbers make for good reading, too. Mbappe is being clinical in front of goal. Thirty-three percent of his shots have been on target – the best mark in the league. He leads La Liga in goals, expected goals and shots. But he has also created 18 chances, and is in the 96th percentile in pass completion percentage.
More impressive, though, are his defensive figures. He has won possession in the final third 10 times, putting him in the 99th percentile among all La Liga players. He is winning his duels at a higher rate than in previous years.
So, while the assumption had always been that Mbappe was perhaps a little one-dimensional, that perception is eroding, little by little.