Kylian Mbappe creates unwanted record during Real Madrid's loss to Barcelona
Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe created an unwanted record in his first El Clasico on Saturday (October 26). Los Blancos were thrashed 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu by Barcelona.
Kylian Mbappe had an underwhelming game for Los Blancos, securing a rating of just 6.0 on Sofascore. The 25-year-old managed just three shots on target and lost possession nine times in 90 minutes. (The statistics are taken from Sofascore on October 27. These sites may change the data at their discretion.)
According to @statmusefc on X, Mbappe was declared offside eight times in the game, making him the player with the most offside calls in a LaLiga match in the last 10 seasons.
Ahead of Saturday's game, Barcelona had suffered four losses on the trot against their arch-rivals. However, Hansi Flick's side outplayed the hosts, both in attack and defense, to clinch a 4-0 win. With the victory, Barcelona further cemented their position atop the LaLiga table with 30 points in 11 games. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are second with 24.
Offside traps have been a potent defensive strategy for Hansi Flick's Barcelona this season. Barca defenders have been disciplined in maintaining a high defensive line, making it difficult for pacey attackers like Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe to time their run and avoid the assistant's flag.
La Blaugrana have drawn a whopping 77 offside calls this season - more than double the number of offside calls drawn by Brighton & Hove Albion (35) at second place - among Europe's top five leagues.
Kylian Mbappe was also denied a goal on his El Clasico debut because of Barcelona's expertise in the offside trap. The French superstar got away from the Blaugrana defense and chipped the ball into Inaki Pena's net in the 31st minute.
He had even started celebrating with an erupting Santiago Bernabeu crowd when VAR confirmed that his leg and shoulder had strayed offside. The scoreline was reverted to 0-0.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti comments on Kylian Mbappe after 4-0 loss to Barcelona
Barcelona ended Real Madrid's 42-game unbeaten run with a 4-0 thrashing at Santiago Bernabeu. After the game manager Carlo Ancelotti elaborated on Kylian Mbappe's underwhelming performance, insisting his side were aware of the offside traps but still missed the trick.
Ancelotti said (as quoted by Madrid Universal):
“We knew they used the high line and we almost missed out. He had chances and sometimes he was offside.”
He also added:
“But he had three or four chances where he needed more accuracy. Something happened with the assistant, not with Flick. He wasn’t a great player.”
After a goalless first half, Robert Lewandowski's electric brace (54', and 56') gave the lead to the visitors. Thereafter, Lamine Yamal (77') and Raphinha (84') scored to take the game away from Carlo Ancelotti's side.