Kylian Mbappe's impact, defensive deficiencies and the six biggest reasons why Real Madrid's 'best squad in Europe' managed to finish the season without a major trophy

When Madrid finally confirmed the signing of Mbappe after years of trying to get him out of Paris Saint-Germain, there were two predictions made by most fans and pundits: that Mbappe would score a lot of goals for the Spanish giants, but that his signing might have a negative impact on others. Both have played out as many expected.

Mbappe has scored goals - more than any other Madrid player ever has in their debut season for the club, in fact. His strike in Wednesday's win over Mallorca was his 39th in all competitions, and few would bet against him breaking the 40 mark in the final two games of the campaign. But those goals have come at an undeniable price.

Spin it however you like, but Vinicius Jr and Mbappe are most comfortable playing in the same position on the left wing. Some pointed towards Mbappe's performances in a two-striker formation for France, or referenced the fact that Vinicius played on the right when Madrid beat Manchester City in last season's Champions League as reasons why the pair could be compatible, but it's clear that they were clutching at straws.

The plan was for Mbappe to play as a No.9, with Vinicius and Rodrygo either side of him while Jude Bellingham moved back into a more traditional midfield role after thriving as a false nine during his own debut campaign at the Bernabeu. And while Mbappe has found a way to make it work for himself, the overall attacking structure hasn't been functioning. He has continued to drift out to the left-hand side at times, while he doesn't make the instinctive runs or offer the hold-up play of a more traditional central striker.

Bellingham's own La Liga goal total has dropped from 19 last season to just eight this - and seven of those came between November and the first week in January. Rodrygo, meanwhile, has looked a pale imitation of himself given how much of Madrid's play has come down their left, and he has thus been benched for a number of key games coming down the stretch.

Defensively, meanwhile, Mbappe's reluctance to work hard off the ball has begun to rub off on some of his high-profile team-mates. As such, they lack coherence when they have the ball, and find themselves outnumbered without it. Mbappe may have held up the goal-scoring side of the bargain, but so many of Madrid's other issues are rooted in his introduction to the team.

No one, however, has been impacted on as negatively by Mbappe's arrival as Vinicius. His overall goal involvement statistics haven't noticeably dropped - he has 36 combined goals and assists in all competitions this season compared to 37 in 2023-24 - but there is no doubt that Vini is nowhere near as decisive as he has proven to be in recent years.

Mbappe limiting the space Vinicius has to operate in has certainly caused some of the Brazilian's issues, and one of Alonso's biggest jobs once he arrives from Bayer Leverkusen will be to figure out how to get the best out of his two superstar attackers. But the ex-Madrid midfielder-turned-coach also needs to find a way to get Vincius out of his post-Ballon d'Or funk.

The winger's public strop at not winning the 2024 Golden Ball amused many, but most expected Vinicius to be true to his word when he clapped back at his snub by claiming that fans "weren't ready" for his on-pitch response. That feeling certainly grew after he marked his first league game following the ceremony in Paris with a hat-trick to beat Osasuna, but as it turned out, that was the high point of Vinicius' campaign.

He has scored just three La Liga goals since netting that treble on November 9, while the majority of his strikes in the Champions League from December onwards have been inconsequential to the final result. If anything, Vinicius has looked to be trying too hard to prove himself to the watching world, as everything about his play has been forced, desperate and even reckless at times.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, has grown increasingly frustrated with the ex-Flamengo starlet, and has been seen imploring Vinicius to defend and berating him when he doesn't track back. Rumours of a potential move to Saudi Arabia look to be going away for now, but there is no doubt that Madrid need Vinicius back towards his best if they are to get themselves back on top.

One element of Madrid's demise that Mbappe cannot be blamed for is that of the injury problems that have piled up over the course of the campaign. Every team in world football has to deal with fitness issues over the course of an increasingly busy season, but Los Blancos have been hit more than most by injury-enforced absences in 2024-25.

By mid-November, Ancelotti had lost the whole right side of his preferred defence after Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao both suffered season-ending ACL injuries, while David Alaba has struggled to put a run of games together ever since returning from his own long-term knee problem in January.

Eduardo Camavinga, meanwhile, will end the season having missed half of Madrid's league games due to various injuries, and Ferland Mendy hasn't played since mid-March after suffering back-to-back muscle injuries. A host of other players have also missed short stints after picking up more minor knocks, while Antonio Rudiger's six-match ban for his Copa del Rey final meltdown brought forward planned meniscus surgery after he had played with severe pain for the past seven months.

Bellingham is set to join Rudiger in going under the knife this summer as the England midfielder aims to rid himself of the shoulder problem that has been bothering him throughout the season, and though he has been able to soldier on to not further expose Madrid, it is clear that a lack of quality depth has come back to bite them. Los Blancos needed to invest in other areas than just attack last summer but didn't, and the speed with which they are trying to get deals for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen over the line speaks to them trying to belatedly solve the problem. The shame for them is that, for this season at least, it's too little, too late.

Perhaps the gap Madrid still most need to fill, though, is in the centre of midfield. While Toni Kroos' decision to retire at the age of 34 came as a shock to many, the fact he announced it before last season was over at least gave his club chance to take stock and weigh up their options. In the end, they decided to ride with what they had - and it hasn't worked.

Kroos' final campaign was perhaps one of his best. His control and cool-headedness in the middle of the park ensured Madrid were always able to stay in control of games regardless of the scoreline. The German could play short and long passes with equal accuracy while both slowing down and speeding the tempo up when necessary. Vinicius and Bellingham scored the goals and grabbed the headlines, but Kroos was the player who made 2023-24 Madrid truly tick.

Replacing a one-of-a-kind player isn't straightforward, of course, but that Madrid seemingly made no effort to do so has ultimately proved costly. Any sense of control from their games has disappeared, and until they can find a suitable replacement, they may struggle to compete at the very highest level in the future.

However, it seems that Madrid's most pressing issue this summer will be to fix a defence that has been torn apart again and again this season. Huijsen and, to a lesser extent, Alexander-Arnold are being brought in to help shore up the Blancos' backline, and a new left-back is still on Alonso's wishlist too.

If any goal summed up their defensive deficiencies as a collective this season it was Martin Valjent's opener for Mallorca at the Bernabeu on Wednesday. The centre-back lumbered out of defence exchanged passes with a midfielder and found, to his bewilderment, that in 12 seconds he had run from effectively his own penalty area into the Madrid's final third. Valjent looked up having received the ball, and found himself not so much unmarked as standing in the middle of a cavernous space with no pressure on him. His strike into the bottom corner for just the ninth goal of his career felt almost reluctant following his unchallenged foray forward.

The injury issues suffered by each of Madrid's first-choice back four can carry some of the blame for the team's struggles, but this is a team problem and not solely one that will be fixed by fresh faces at the back. Opponents have been able to play both through them and around Madrid. There has been no structure, no organisation, and no press. The three lines have been either too packed together, or too far apart. The lack of a reliable defensive midfielder - and dearth of legs in midfield in general - has meant that opponents have routinely had room to run at the centre-backs.

Madrid were cut to pieces by both counter-attacking juggernauts such as Barcelona and more controlled possession sides such as Arsenal at the biggest moments. They have simply been too easy to play against in 2024-25.

There are, of course, two sides to every story, and it would only be fair to point out that Barcelona have been very, very, very good this season. Many were sceptical of new manager Hansi Flick following his failed stint in charge of Germany, while an ageing Robert Lewandowski, injury-hit midfield and incessant financial issues painted a picture of a Barca team who still needed a few years to get themselves back among Europe's elite.

Those thoughts have, though, aged like milk. Flick's Barcelona have had some teething problems along the way, but they have been truly magnificent for the majority of the campaign. The ex-Bayern Munich boss has built a wonderful attacking side, spearheaded by Lamine Yamal and Raphinha running rampant on either wing while Lewandowski has looked rejuvenated through the middle. A finally fully-fit Pedri has also been a revelation, and while their high defensive line has its detractors, it also allows Barca to squeeze their opponents into submission while pressing.

Their results against Madrid have painted a perfect picture of Barcelona's dominance; four games, four wins, 16 goals scored. Wins in the finals of both the Copa del Rey and Supercopa have now been added to with their Liga coronation, and given the improvement's Flick's young team can still likely make, Madrid might not have the 'best squad in Europe' for much longer.