Would Erling Haaland do better than Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid? French forward's El Clasico performance defended as 'the problems came from midfield'

Mbappe's debut Clasico did not go to plan with the Real Madrid superstar failing to find the back of the net as Barcelona ran out 4-0 winners at the Santiago Bernabeu. The France star actually had a night to forget, being caught offside eight times in the famous fixture, as Hansi Flick's side got their tactics spot on. Mbappe has now been caught offside 17 times in La Liga, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, a record he certainly will not want in his collection.

Mbappe has been in the spotlight since his move from Paris Saint-Germain and is yet to consistently produce the kind of form Madrid fans would have expected from the forward. Mbappe has scored six goals in La Liga but he is well below Robert Lewandowski in the Pichichi standings, as the Barcelona striker already has 14 to his name. Yet Mbappe has been defended by compatriot Petit who has explained why he thinks that even Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland would have struggled in El Clasico.

Petit told Jeffbet: "I'm surprised the linesman was not replaced with a shoulder injury with the number of times he had to raise his flag for Kylian Mbappe. I don't think Erling Haaland scores the chances Mbappe has in the El Clasico, because the problems came from the midfield of Real Madrid. Every time Luke Modric comes on the pitch, you see a difference. I am not convinced by Aurelien Tchouameni, he can't run the midfield like Modric has and can. There is a huge gap between the attackers and midfield at Real Madrid."

Mbappe and Real Madrid must wait to try and bounce back from a dismal Clasico defeat. Their La Liga clash with Valencia has been postponed, due to the devastating floods caused by DANA, meaning Carlo Ancelotti's side must wait until Tuesday after a Champions League fixture with AC Milan to return to action.