You are missing only one being and everything is depopulated. Replacing this Wednesday evening during the Champions League match lost by Real Madrid against Manchester City (1-2), Kylian Mbappé witnessed the new poor performance of the Merengues from the sidelines. Victim of a fractured ring finger on his left hand and injured knee, the French international did not set foot on the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Obviously, his partners suffered from the absence of their main offensive weapon (25 goals in 21 games this season) since despite the opener signed by Rodrygo, the Madrilenians lacked realism to punish a Citizen team that was not really irresistible. Xabi Alonso, the coach of the Spanish giant, admitted this in a press conference after the game: “When Mbappé is not on the pitch, his absence is felt. We had enough opportunities to score this second goal, but when it’s not your turn, it doesn’t matter how hard you try,” said the 44-year-old technician, whose job is in danger after this new setback.
“He was obviously not in shape to play”
The latter does not yet know when Mbappé will be able to return to the field. “It is still too early to say if he will be ready for Sunday (against Alavés, in La Liga). We’ll see day by day. But today (Wednesday), no. He was obviously not in shape to play, otherwise he would have played,” said Xabi Alonso, who is struggling to put his stamp on his team and has only won two matches in the last eight played by Real.
Announced in the hot seat in the event of a bad result against Manchester City, he nevertheless received the support of some of his players after the game. “We are 100% behind our coach, we fully support him,” said Rodrygo, for example, author of an excellent match on Wednesday evening. “We will go with Xabi Alonso until death. He is not guilty, we all are,” even said Raul Asensio, the Madrid defender.
Concerning Mbappé, the ex-Parisian remains the top scorer in the Champions League with 9 goals. After a final test at the start of the day at the Real Madrid training center, his withdrawal was recorded by the Merengues coach before the match against City, despite his presence on the substitutes’ bench. “Kylian is not able to play,” Alonso assured Movistar + a few moments before kick-off. He didn’t have good feelings and since he can’t play at 100%, we shouldn’t take excessive risks. »
