Kylian Mbappe made his Club World Cup debut in the 1-0 win over Juventus on Tuesday, with the Frenchman providing a reminder of what he can bring to Xabi Alonso’s changing Real Madrid side.
Mbappe came on for Gonzalo Garcia in the 68th minute of the match in Miami, with the latter having opened the scoring not long before with a brilliant header.
The Madrid academy product has thrived when given the opportunity under the absence of Mbappe, but the Frenchman made his return and was energetic throughout, linking up well with Vinicius Jr in attack and almost prodding home from one of the Brazilian’s crosses.
The cameo also marked Mbappe’s first appearance under Alonso, who is four games into his role as Madrid manger, with the 26-year-old obviously forming a key part of the Spaniard’s plans going forward.
Mbappe featured as the striker for much of his cameo as Alonso moved from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3, with this role likely familiar to Mbappe after last season. Though the fact remains that he is probably not a natural number nine, there were few complaints with Mbappe’s first term, with the World Cup winner having scored 43 goals in all competitions.
Nevertheless, it is notable that Madrid started with more of a 3-5-2 formation, so the Frenchman may be expected to play alongside Vini Jr as one of two strikers at certain points in a formation that could help him share some of the goalscoring burden.
Mbappe was understandably not 100 per cent sharp, having recently been hospitalised with gastroenteritis, but took up good positions on several occasions, though his teammates failed to find him.
It remains to be seen whether he will start in the quarter-final, whoever that may be against, but fans will be excited to see how he fits in to a new-look Madrid side having won the European Golden Boot for 2024/25.
Madrid will face either Borussia Dortmund or Monterrey in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup on Saturday, 5 July.
