Mbappé has a new weapon in his arsenal

Kylian Mbappé took the field against Leganés with 31 goals in a Real Madrid shirt and two items still missing from his scoring arsenal: a header (not one yet, and understandably, it’s not his strongest suit) – and a direct free-kick goal. Despite being well-equipped for long-range strikes – with four goals from outside the box this season alone – Mbappé had never scored from a direct free kick. Not with Monaco, not with PSG, not with Real Madrid, and not even with France.

But against Leganés, he finally showed a glimpse of that weapon. His stunning 3–2 goal came from an indirect free kick, but it signaled that set pieces – Fran García placed the ball for him – could become part of his toolkit.

The French star’s long-standing itch to score from a dead ball was evident in the way he ran straight to embrace Luis Llopis, Madrid’s goalkeeping coach, after the goal. The work had been done behind the scenes. Mbappé himself gave full credit to the coaching staff. “The free kick? We practiced it a few weeks ago with the staff,” he told Real Madrid TV. “I knew I could shoot that way to that side, I saw the gap, asked the others to let me take it, and it worked.”

Ancelotti confirmed that Mbappé had focused on free kicks in the final training session before facing Leganés. This wasn’t luck – it was planned.

Mbappé has been itching to crack the code on this part of his game – one mastered by Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance. Back in August, shortly after joining Madrid, a club training video went viral showing Mbappé scoring a brilliant free kick and jokingly shouting to teammates, “I can score free kicks!”

It was only a matter of time before a confident Mbappé stepped up in a role that had been out of reach at PSG, where Messi and Neymar dominated set-piece duty.

Mbappé pushing – and not letting go

Mbappé is now decisive not just when unlocking tight games, but also when setting the tone. His 1–0 goal against Leganés – a perfectly executed Panenka – marked his 18th opener of the season for Madrid. That’s exactly why the club signed him. Not only for the big nights, but for the tricky ones, the matches where points can slip away unexpectedly.

Saturday’s clash against a stubborn Leganés could have been one of those – but it wasn’t. Mbappé is not just a game-winner. He’s also the safety net.

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