Kylian Mbappé gives Real Madrid hope against Manchester City

Nobody knows how the match will end, but it has only just begun: Mbappé will face City. It’s official, it’s confirmed. Despite continuing to feel discomfort in his left knee and carrying a broken bone in his hand, he wants to play. Both he and the club have worked tirelessly over the last 48 hours. Long physiotherapy sessions, compression therapy, constant treatment. And although the strain persists, tonight is a night to push through. He’s in the squad.

From here, a new dilemma emerges: should he start, or should he be kept as an ace up the sleeve? His progress in the coming hours, along with how he feels just before kick-off, will determine the decision. But Kylian will be at the Bernabéu.

His presence alone provides a boost before the battle. He is the player with the most minutes in the entire squad (1,838), even ahead of Courtois (1,800), Carreras (1,701), and Valverde (1,654). He never stops, he never rests. Mbappé has played every minute this season except for 52, which is 97 percent of the total. He has started all 21 matches. If you include those for France, he has 26 consecutive starts, dating back to the Club World Cup match against Dortmund.

His performance speaks for itself: 25 goals. To put it in perspective, 57 percent of Real Madrid’s goals this season are his. In total, 25 out of 44, which is more than half of Madrid’s tally. He scores every 73 minutes, averaging 1.19 goals per game. In the Champions League he is even better, scoring once every 49 minutes, with one in every two shots ending in the net (18 shots, 9 goals). He’s Mbappé, irreplaceable.

The discomfort began against Celta: an awkward movement, followed by pain in his left knee. He was able to continue in the heat of the match, but once the area cooled down things became complicated. Monday was his scheduled recovery day, as it is for all starters. It was on Tuesday that the alarm bells rang: he did not step onto the pitch, remaining under close observation. A final assessment was due today, the morning of the match. The doubt was entirely down to his knee; the broken ring finger on his left hand would not have prevented him playing. That dilemma had been resolved.

But tonight is a night to make an effort. And he wants to. For now, he is in the squad. Whether he starts or not is down to the staff, and still undecided. If he does not start, Plan B comes into play: Xabi would have to choose between Gonzalo (163 minutes and his big gamble at the Club World Cup, precisely when Kylian was unavailable), Endrick (11 minutes, though they spoke after training yesterday), or reinstating the Rodrygo-Vinicius partnership that worked so well under Ancelotti but has no place in his current system. That is the question. He will have to choose.

Mbappé will be there. And with this news, the injury list remains at the seven already known: Carvajal (right knee), Trent (quadriceps), Militao (hamstring), Huijsen (quadriceps), Alaba (right calf), Mendy (hamstring), and Camavinga (calf).

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Xabi turns to the youth academy to bolster the squad: David Jiménez (right-back), Joan Martínez (centre-back), Valdepeñas (left-back), and Cestero (defensive midfielder). Without them, he would have barely six first-team outfield players on the bench. A list in which Mbappé features prominently. The scorer of 57 percent of Real Madrid’s goals, the man who has only rested 52 minutes all season. He always plays, he always starts. Tonight is a night to make an effort. Kylian is in the squad. And so, the match begins.

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