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Football pundit Jerome Rothen has blamed Kylian Mbappe for Real Madrid's struggles this season. The French superstar left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last summer as a free agent to move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
His arrival was supposed to help Los Blancos, who won the league and the Champions League last season, hit a higher gear. However, that hasn't been the case, with the LaLiga champions trailing Barcelona in the title race, and struggling in Europe as well.
Speaking on RMC Sport, as cited by Tribal Football, the former PSG winger suggested that Kylian Mbappe has tactically destabilized Real Madrid.
"He is one of the culprits. We don't want to put all the blame on Kylian Mbappe for the match, but we expected a decisive Mbappe and he wasn't. I saw him a bit awkward. He didn't always hit the mark in the few chances he had. A striker of his calibre has to improve. As for individual performances, he was quite mediocre...," said Rothen.
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He continued:
"The other disappointment, and in this case Mbappé is perhaps responsible, is his style, his way of being. We don't see it. Mbappé is stingy in defense, he is not someone who focuses tactically on protecting the midfield. Looking at Carlo Ancelotti's system yesterday, this is the question I asked myself."
He concluded:
"The fact of having signed Mbappé has destabilised Madrid tactically. In the important games since the beginning of the season, Real Madrid have not been up to par. For me, this is a problem."
Los Blancos are trailing 3-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, and face them in the second leg next week at the Santiago Bernabeu.
How many goals has Kylian Mbappe scored for Real Madrid so far?
Kylian Mbappe has scored 33 goals and set up five more from 48 games for Real Madrid so far this season. The Frenchman has already equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's debut campaign record for Los Blancos.
Mbappe is on course to register the best debut season for the LaLiga giants, a record currently held by Ivan Zamorano. The Chilean forward scored 37 times in the 1992/93 campaign, but his long-standing feat could be finally broken this year.
The French superstar has already won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid this season. Los Blancos also reached the final of the Supercopa de Espana, but came up second-best against Barcelona.
