Kylian Mbappe still hasn't resolved the big No. 9 doubt
After a rough Matchday 1 against Espanyol in which he failed to find the target in a 2-1 win that Carlos Espi and Jude Bellingham rescued for the Merengues, Real Madrid center forward Kylian Mbappe responded with a monstrous performance against Real Sociedad, bagging a hat trick in an impressive 4-1 blowout victor over one of Spanish football's better sides.
But against Real Betis, the worst of Mbappe reared its head again, and the experienced Frenchman started to look like he did in the second half of the 2025/26 La Liga season when he and Real Madrid imploded during the crunch of the title race against eternal rivals FC Barcelona.
Mbappe missed a penalty, an open net, and about a handful of other clear cut scoring chances that any average La Liga striker should be scoring. Despite Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Vinicius Junior all serving him up wtih clear cut chances from a silver platter, Mbappe flubbed them, messing up the perfect supporting group of chance creation as Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Real Betis.
Kylian Mbappe is not as convincing as his name would suggest
Real Madrid signed Carlos Espi this past summer transfer window to replace Gonzalo Garcia at a cheaper price, and there is reason to believe that Espi is a better overall player after his winning goal against Espanyol and a great performance against Betis that could have led to the tide turning, especially if he were to have gone into th game sooner - an for Mbappe directly instead.
Kylian Mbappe is a talented player, but while he may score loads of goals for France, he has trouble actually elevating his team to winning more games or scoring goals substantially more than inferior players in the Spanish top flight, such as barely beating out Vedat Muriqi of relegation fodder side Mallorca in the Pichichi Trophy race last season.
When comparing how Espi and Mbappe are playing in the middle of the pitch and taking advantage of their opportunities, it is really hard to say that Mbappe has kept the tide at bay or convinced Madridistas that he is a 100 percent sealed starter in the center forward position.
Mbappe is skating by on name, because in a meritocracy, there would be more fire under his seat to start at the striker position every week for Real Madrid. If the roles were reversed and Mbappe were Espi and Espi Mbappe, the conversation would be very different, and Espi, in the position he is in now, would be getting more chances. Mbappe is not doing enough to put his chances away or work for the team the way a Real Madrid No. 9 should.
