Mbappe WINS his battle with Vini Junior

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 25 Nov 2024 02:31 CST
• 2 min read

Kylian Mbappe might just have settled into the position at Real Madrid that suits him best, having shone against Leganes in a 3-0 victory.

Mbappe came into the game under pressure from the media after what was perceived to be a poor start to the season, yet repositioned by Carlo Ancelotti for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture, there was little to criticise the France international for.

After nine minutes he had the ball in the net only for the effort to be disallowed because of a tight offside call, yet just before the break, the striker tapped home from close range after being set up by Vini Junior.

The combination between the two Real Madrid attackers has been a major talking point since the start of the season. Mbappe, though, has primarily played as a lone centre-forward – a position he repeatedly said that he did not like at PSG.

On Sunday, Ancelotti improvised. Against Leganes, he played a 4-4-2 system that saw Mbappe and Vini Jr play together in attack. Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler featured on the wings while Endrick, who’s lack of minutes this season has also become a discussion point, also managed to get on the park.

Crucially for Mbappe, he featured on the left side of the attack, the domain of Vini since the start of the season, and from there it was no surprise that he gave one of his most complete displays of the season to date.

Mbappe shines against Leganes

FootballCritic gave the France star a score of 8.0, and while this lagged Vini Jr (8.4) and Fede Valverde, who scored a 9.0 from an unfamiliar right-back role, it was comfortably his best score since the middle of September.

Mbappe had an impressive 61 touches, 11 of which were in the box, completed 85% of his passes and had five shots on goal, three of which hit the target.

All of this, meanwhile, did not seem to have an impact on Vini’s level, although the Brazilian was reduced more to a role of creative force rather than scoring threat.

What’s next?

Next up for Real Madrid, meanwhile, is a colossal Champions League battle against Liverpool at Anfield.

Ancelotti would be brave to try the same system with Mbappe and Vini in attack, yet because of the injury crisis at the Bernabeu and just how well the ploy worked against Leganes, he may be forced to use these tactics once more.