Kylian Mbappe experienced his second Clasico as a Real Madrid player with bitterness. He already lost 4-0 in La Liga last October and now Madrid conceded five. The difference, although the striker will not take comfort from it, is that this time he was the only one who left a good impression among Madrid fans, while in his first duel against the Catalans he was the one singled out for his mistakes and for falling offside.
“Yes, he has been the best,” commented Carlo Ancelotti on the Movistar microphones when asked if Mbappe could be the only positive note of the bad night in Arabia.
The truth is that Mbappe had a great game, logically overshadowed by Barca’s dominance and absolute superiority. But Madrid opened the scoring with a great goal by the Frenchman, perfect in the run, in the dribble against Balde and in the finish against Szczesny.
Much more than the great goal
But that was not all. Shortly after scoring, he again made a spectacular, unstoppable run, until he was unlucky enough to slip and was inadvertently stepped on by Kounde. The Real Madrid number nine had to be treated and on the second visit of the doctors he asked to have his ankle bandaged. It was difficult for him to get into the game, but he gained confidence and was always the most dangerous player for the Blaugrana defence.
Kylian also provoked the sending off of Barca’s goalkeeper, which led to Rodrygo’s free-kick goal. He also produced a spectacular backheel to assist Bellingham, with the game already over. He had a few more, such as a good move inside the area that ended with an excellent shot that was saved by Inaki Pena.
Goals in all three finals
Mbappe has not been able to sign his third title with Real Madrid, but he has scored in the three finals he has played. He scored against Atalanta in the European Super Cup, the first goal against Pachuca in the Intercontinental Cup final and yesterday against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup he again opened the scoring.
The good news for Mbappe is that he also showed great form throughout the match. The Frenchman had already shown signs of improvement several weeks ago, but he was lacking a complete game. Araujo, who came on for the injured Inigo Martinez, was shown the yellow card and could not cope with the former PSG player throughout the second half.