Real Madrid clings to Kylian Mbappé in this early piece of the season. The Xabi Alonso project started with encouraging signs – three points against Osasuna and a solid defense view – but there is still work to be done, especially in terms of fluidity and attacking production. However, what Alonso does not have to worry about is who leads his team on the field. That man is Mbappé.
The French attacker arranged the match against Osasuna with a moment of sparkle. Frustrated in finding no space in the middle, he drove to the right, burst past defenders, cut into the box and was taken down. He stepped up to take the fine himself, making it clear that the Spot-Kick-Hierarchy will be resolved this season, because it was under Carlo Ancelotti last year, with mixed and often precious results.
It was his first goal of a campaign in which he wants to surpass the already remarkable count of 44 of last season – a number that could have been even higher did not have disease from the group phase of the club World Cup. During the summer tour through the United States, Madrid looked comfortable with a modest version of Vinícius and the rise of Gonzalo, but the start of the new season reset the image. In this new Madrid there is no other leader than Mbappé.
Alonso itself admits so much: “I will try to help him, for the team to help him and for him to help the team win competitions. To feel comfortable and for the others. This is about the team, and Kylian is a fundamental part of it to play as a team of the season. Will be our strength.”
This is also not a matter of tactics. Whether it plays Madrid with three attackers or two at the top, Mbappé will lead the attack. Playing through the middle is no longer a problem – it is the others who have to adjust around him. The most important among them is a player whose stock has fallen in this opening phase: Vinícius.
Vinícius gives Alonso to do work
While questions about Mbappé were framed in glowing terms before the Oviedo match, they wore a much unpleasant undertone about Vinícius. Alonso's answers – as with those on Rodrygo – were vague and not – committal: “All players are important, I count on them all, and from the moment we prepare the team until when we choose the starting XI, everyone can be important in the team. He looks good. We have just started. Everyone is enthusiastic to have a good year and has the right posture.”
It was a generic answer, especially in view of the fact that Alonso has shown that he can be focused and personally when he chooses-as he was about Mbappé, and even about the 16-year-old Franco Mastantuono. With Vinícius, however, Alonso knows that the task is delicate: he must restore the best version of the Brazilian in a difficult context. Vinícius comes from a disappointing year after missing the Ballon d'Or, his contract renewal with Madrid is still not resolved, and rumors about a Saudi movement, faintly, although they may be, lingers in the background.
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