Where exactly was Kylian Mbappe? The rebellious striker was disappointingly absent again, while Vinicius Jr. rescued Los Blancos as they fumbled to a draw.
Real Madrid’s disappointing draw came as a result of the captain of France failing to score for the third straight game.
The Kylian Mbappe that Real Madrid was hoping for is not this one. For the third straight game, Los Blancos’ high-profile addition was absent and had no effect in a dreary 1-1 draw with Las Palmas.
Early on in the match, the home team made their presence known and deserved their 1-0 lead. With a sliding pass from Oli McBurnie, it was created, and Alberto Moleiro calmly finished it into the bottom corner. For extended periods, Madrid appeared to have lost the ability to pass the ball. They played a disorganised first half and were duly down at the half.
But after a regrettable handball in the box, Vinicius Jr.’s penalty kick into the net on 68 minutes gave Carlo Ancelotti’s team an equaliser. And from there, they never quite managed to establish a clear opportunity. Mbappe missed a few opportunities. Vinicius chopped and dribbled without success.
By the end of it all, the league favourites had dropped points for the second time in three games, and Ancelotti’s famous front three were fighting with one another.
Goalkeeper & Defence
Thibaut Courtois (6/10):
Could do nothing about the home side’s opener. Made a couple of bright stops to keep his team in it.
Lucas Vazquez (6/10):
Showed some bright moments in attack, but could never provide the killer final pass.
Eder Militao (5/10):
Made to look rather silly for the Las Palmas opener, and was easily dispossessed on a few occassions. Yet to recover his pre-injury form.
Antonio Rudiger (7/10):
Got caught in awkward positions once or twice, but mostly had the legs to recover.
Ferland Mendy (6/10):
Didn’t do much wrong – or right – and was removed at the half.
Midfield
Attack
Brahim Diaz (5/10):
Completed just 71% of his passes, and was often indecisive in 45 disappointing minutes of work.
Kylian Mbappe (4/10):
Cut a frustrated figure in the first half, and started taking random efforts on goal. Lost it with his team-mates on a couple of occasions. Not happening for him, at the moment.
Vinicius Jr (6/10):
Rodrygo (6/10):
Lively off the bench, but didn’t produce his usual moment of magic.
Fran Garcia (6/10):
Full of pace on the left. Certainly a better attacking option than Mendy.
Arda Guler (6/10):
Played some interesting passes in the final third. Would’ve come away with an assist had Mbappe been cleaner in front of goal.
Dani Carvajal (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Endrick (N/A):
Late legs for Vinicius. Skied one shot late on.
Carlo Ancelotti (5/10):
Tried to rotate a bit against lesser opposition, and was rather made to pay. Los Blancos were second best for an hour, and didn’t turn it on until it was too late. He needs to figure out how to get a tune out of Mbappe.
Aurelien Tchouameni (5/10):
Incredibly wayward with some of his passing, especially in the first half. Improved after the break, but really needs to be cleaner at the base of midfield.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Created more chances than anyone else, covered loads of ground, had a free-kick nicely saved.
Luka Modric (6/10):
Floated around, created his fair share of chances, constantly looked to connect in the final third – but his lack of legs was an issue without the ball. His influence waned as the game wore on.
