Mbappé's relative goal drought no cause for Madrid concern
The French striker has been unable to score in his first three LaLiga games, and early questions are being asked.
It seemed that Kylian Mbappé had landed on his feet at Real Madrid. He celebrated his long-awaited debut in the UEFA Super Cup with his first goal and his first title wearing the shirt he had dreamed of since childhood. A promising start, suggesting that the forward, who had averaged more than 40 goals in each of his last four seasons, had joined Carlo Ancelotti’s team fully loaded. But when it comes to LaLiga, the final hurdle toward the opponent’s goal continues to elude him, already three games in.
Mbappé: most attempts in Europe
It’s not for lack of trying, attitude, or involvement in the game. The French star is making the effort, finding space, and constantly calling for the ball. “The Frenchman makes himself available frequently and effectively, yet he doesn’t receive all the balls a player of his caliber should,” Álvaro Benito wrote in these very pages yesterday. The goal he scored against Atalanta, in a play where he made several runs before finally receiving the ball from Jude Bellingham, was a demonstration of his quality in the area and the solutions he offers the team in finishing.
But when it comes to the crucial moments, things aren’t going Kylian’s way in this still nascent LaLiga season. The 25-year-old had four attempts in Mallorca, another four against Valladolid, and increased that to nine in Las Palmas. None of these resulted in the much desired goal. He is so determined that he even did everything possible to stay on his feet in a potential penalty situation where McKenna had him in a hold. In total, 17 shots have made him the top shooter in the early stages of the season across Europe’s major leagues, according to Opta data. But the goal continues to elude him.
Given the above statistic, it’s no surprise that he has the worst differential between expected goals (xG) and actual goals (-1.8 xG). With the chances he has had, the probability of him having already scored two goals is higher than that of having scored just one. Or put another way: last season in Ligue 1, he needed an average of 4.4 shots to find the net. At that rate, he could easily have had four goals by now. However, in Spain, his tally remains empty...
Mbappé left an endless trail of victims in Ligue 1. He departed the French championship having scored against every opponent (31) he faced, except one: PSG. He played them when he was still at Monaco. It didn’t matter whether he faced them 14 times or just twice.
LaLiga flood gates likely to open soon for Mbappé
So far, his first three opponents in LaLiga (Mallorca, Valladolid, and Las Palmas) can boast of having resisted Mbappé's goal-scoring potential. It’s a temporary dry spell, everyone is sure of, but for the talent from Bondy, it marks a historic start to a season. Other than the year of his early debut with Monaco (when he was still 16), he had always scored at least one goal in his first three matches of each season in Ligue 1. Last season, he scored five goals in his first three (despite being a substitute in the opener). In fact, he’s only scored four in his last 16 games, including for France.
No alarm bells are ringing in the Spanish capital just yet. As Ancelotti reminded us on the eve of the match against Las Palmas, “his last goal was on August 14. It’s only been two weeks! We’re not concerned, and neither is he. He’s eager to score, that’s clear.”
This brief drought is seen as part of the process. And the fans, who eagerly attended his debut at the Santiago Bernabéu last Sunday, are looking forward to celebrating Mbappé's first LaLiga goal against Betis on Sunday, the first day of September. It will surely be the first of many.