French striker Kylian Mbappé is heading for a third disastrous season with Real Madrid. He vanished from view at the "Riyadh Air Metropolitano" during his side's 2-1 defeat to Atlético Madrid, barely touching the ball in the second half when his team-mates needed him most. Once again the Ballon d'Or candidate disappeared against Diego Simeone's tight defensive system.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", the 27-year-old has 8 goals and two assists in 8 matches this season. This was his third blank of the campaign, after he failed to find the net against Espanyol and Real Betis.
Two titles in a little over two years is all Mbappé has to show for his time at the royal club. He failed to register a single shot on target here and gave the ball away 15 times.
The French striker's numbers against capital rivals Atlético Madrid since pulling on the Real Madrid shirt make for deeply worrying reading. He has faced the neighbours 6 times, winning just twice (he did not start one of those), drawing one and losing 3, while injury kept him out of two other clashes. Across those 6 encounters, Mbappé managed only two goals.
His pale display against Atlético, a side he has never beaten at the "Riyadh Air Metropolitano", could hardly have come at a worse moment for the Ballon d'Or race. Voting closes on 28 September this month.
The 2018 World Cup winner has repeatedly insisted he deserves the award ahead of Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane. Yet he sits 6 goals behind Raphinha at the start of this season, the same Raphinha he once brushed aside when the press drew comparisons. "I could pretend to be stupid and say that I score more goals than Raphinha and Dembélé and that they should score more goals," Mbappé said.
Against Barcelona: more goals and more defeats
Barcelona tell a different story, though not a happier one. On an individual level Mbappé has scored 6 goals in 6 clashes, missing another through injury.
The royal club, however, have managed only one win in the Clásico with the French striker involved, a 2-1 victory under Xabi Alonso. Every other meeting ended in defeat, three of them finals.
Before he landed his dream move to Real Madrid, Mbappé's record against the Catalans looked far rosier. In a Paris Saint-Germain shirt he scored 6 goals in 4 clashes, tipping the balance the Parisians' way with two wins, one draw and one defeat. The partnership between Kylian and Real Madrid has ended up shackling both parties and limiting their aspirations.
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