RMC journalist Daniel Riolo has advised Carlo Ancelotti to drop Kylian Mbappe from his Real Madrid starting XI. Riolo believes Mbappe will never be a No. 9 and does not deserve a place in the starting XI, especially not at the expense of two-time Champions League winner Rodrygo.
Kylian Mbappe Is Under Fire for Sub-Par Showings
Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) talisman Mbappe has failed to live up to expectations at Real Madrid. The 25-year-old was expected to add more ferocity to Los Blancos’ attack, but that has not been the case.
With Vinicius Jr. manning the left flank, Mbappe has had to play through the middle. The Frenchman has looked uncomfortable operating as a center-forward, rarely making runs behind the defense and veering into an offside position time and again. In the 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on October 26, Mbappe was caught offside a whopping eight times.
Mbappe is also seemingly lacking confidence, with the forward squandering plenty of goalscoring opportunities over the last three months. He has so far played 14 games for the Merengues, scoring eight times, with only one of those goals coming in his last six outings.
Daniel Riolo Urges Carlo Ancelotti to Drop Kylian Mbappe from Real Madrid Line-Up
Real Madrid suffered a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday (November 5). After yet another underwhelming display from Mbappe, Riolo said on After Foot:
“I have been killing myself saying it for months – Mbappe is not and will never be a number 9. Just like everyone else is a prisoner of this thing, Ancelotti is in the same prison.
“I’m going to repeat a sentence that I’ve repeated 150 times: Mbappe, either it’s on the left, or it’s on the bench. And on the left, there’s better than him at the moment since Vinicius has the privilege of seniority and performances, so it’s going to go to the bench because it can’t be otherwise.”
He concluded by adding:
“He’s not a 9, there’s one on the bench (Rodrygo) and he’s going to have to be played. Can Ancelotti take responsibility for such a decision? Real are a big club and capable of taking responsibility for such a decision but they can’t continue like this, it’s obvious.”
It will be interesting to see if Ancelotti takes Riolo’s advice when Real Madrid takes on CA Osasuna in La Liga this Saturday, November 9.
