Sport

Kylian Mbappe can’t stop scoring and could brutally expose Liverpool’s defensive weakness

In another world, Kylian Mbappe might have joined Liverpool instead of Real Madrid. While the true interest from the Anfield club never matched the level of online chatter, Liverpool reportedly weighed up an offer for Mbappe when he was looking to leave Paris Saint-Germain. He could have lined up for Tuesday’s match in red, not white.

 

As it is, Mbappe will lead the line for Real Madrid having joined the Spanish giants last year. Los Blancos have moulded themselves around the French forward who has registered 18 goals in all competitions this season and is widely considered among the best players in the world at this moment in time.

 

Liverpool should be fearful. Most opposition teams are fearful of Mbappe, but the Premier League champions have more reason than most to be alarmed by the thought of what the Real Madrid forward might do to them. Indeed, Mbappe could brutally expose the weaknesses in Arne Slot’s side.

 

Defensively, Liverpool have been all over the place this season. They have struggled to contain opponents intent on playing on the break with Slot openly highlighting the difficulty his team has experienced in defending long balls. Xabi Alonso surely heard those remarks and took note of them.

 

While Real Madrid have become more possession-orientated since Alonso’s appointment in the summer, they are still very much geared to attack open space at speed and this is largely due to the quality of Mbappe. The Frenchman is most devastating when can play in quick transition and Alonso has done his best to harness his best player.

 

Alonso has done a lot to transform Mbappe’s game in a short period of time. While Carlo Ancelotti did his best to get Mbappe and Vinicius Junior working together on the same wing, Alonso has instead positioned Mbappe through the middle as more of a conventional centre forward.

 

This has resulted in Mbappe getting into better goalscoring positions more regularly. He is happy to stay centrally and have others provide a supply line with Alonso deploying the likes of Arda Guler and Vinicius as mobile creators with the freedom to drift and find space wherever it opens up.

 

“I’ve had many coaches and I’m used to each one having their own philosophy and style,” said Mbappe. “Xabi is different from Ancelotti. He has his own way of working, and little by little we’re understanding what he wants. You can see on the pitch that we’ve improved since the start of the season, since the Club World Cup, although we still have room for improvement. We haven’t won anything yet, but we’re doing well. We’re on the right track.”

 

Real Madrid are going through a process under Alonso and it hasn’t been an easy process to date. There have been difficult moments, like the 5-2 defeat suffered in the Madrid Derby when Atletico Madrid found it easy to play through Real Madrid’s press. Reports have also surfaced about disgruntlement within the dressing room over Alonso’s training methods.

 

However, results and performances have gradually improved over the course of the campaign and Mbappe is currently in the form of his life, finding the back of the net in all but two of the matches he has played for Real Madrid this season. He’s a good bet to continue that scoring streak against Liverpool.

 

Slot might well reuse the lineup that did a good job of handling Aston Villa’s threat in transition on Saturday. Andy Robertson and Conor Bradley could continue as the starting full backs. Dominik Szoboszlai could keep Florian Wirtz on the bench. It still might not be enough to stop Mbappe.