Real Madrid have been making some quality additions to their squad for several years now, but the last summer transfer window was special as they Merengues were finally able to land one of their most desired targets in the market, the French World Cup winner, Kylian Mbappe.
Being one of the best forwards in the world, Mbappe arrived at Real Madrid with a lot of expectations. His addition was expected to further improve an already stacked forward line, and make the Los Blancos’ attack a real juggernaut that would be feared throughout Europe.
However, the few early games have watered down some of these expectations, as Mbappe had a rather slow start to life at Real Madrid. After his goal-scoring debut in the UEFA Super Cup, he was unable to score in the first three league games and got his first La Liga goal only in the game against Real Betis on matchday 4.
Last year, Real Madrid incorporated Jude Bellingham into their squad, and the Englishman also came with very high expectations. However, as opposed to Mbappe, he was able to even surpass these expectations as he got to a flying start with Real Madrid.
Being two stars of comparable stature, and both having joined Real Madrid from a weaker league – Mbappe from Ligue 1 and Bellingham from Bundesliga – a comparison of how these two players fared in their early games can provide a good idea of whether Mbappe’s early form at Real Madrid actually deserves the criticism that it has received.
Bellingham’s first seven games with Real Madrid
According to data gathered by Transfermarkt, six of Bellingham’s first seven games came in La Liga, while the last one was played in the UEFA Champions League. The Englishman played almost every minute possible in these games, and the only game he did not complete was the second league game against Almeria in which he subbed out on the 81st minute.
During these seven games, Bellingham scored six goals and provided one assist. He lost only one of these seven games, the one against Atletico Madrid in La Liga, and won all the other matches.
Mbappe’s first seven games with Real Madrid
Similarly, Mbappe’s data on Transfermarkt shows that while he is trailing Bellingham in several aspects, he is not too far off. The Frenchman made his Real Madrid debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta and then played five games in La Liga. His seventh game with Real Madrid came in the UEFA Champions League against Stuttgart.
As opposed to Bellingham, Mbappe completed only four of these games, while he was subbed off sometime after the 80-minute mark in the rest of the three games. In these first seven games, the Frenchman scored four goals but is yet to provide an assist. But, while Bellingham had to taste defeat in one of his first seven games, Mbappe is still undefeated with Real Madrid.
Conclusion
Thus, the statistics make it quite clear that Mbappe is not having a start to life as good as Bellingham did last year. However, the Englishman’s 2023-24 campaign was truly a special affair, and not even a player as big as Kylian Mbappe can be reasonably expected to have a similar start to life at Real Madrid.
Furthermore, after three league games without a goal, the Frenchman already seems to have found his groove, as he has now scored in all of his last three games. Thus, the criticism he faced earlier was a bit too early, and hopefully, he will continue to work well with the likes of Vinicius and Bellingham to prove his critics wrong as the season progresses.