Any football fan doesn’t need an introduction to Real Madrid’s obsession to sign Kylian Mbappe and make the superstar the new face of the club, like Cristiano Ronaldo in the past. The ‘Operation Mbappe’ might be finally coming to an end in the summer of 2022, as the club might secure the Frenchman’s signature on a free transfer, with his contract at PSG running out in 2022 and with seemingly zero progress in his contract situation at the Qatari owned club.
Kylian Mbappe might be finally getting to play with his compatriot and a player he looks up to – Karim Benzema. Both of them share an excellent relationship both on and off the field, and it would be a pleasure to watch both of them play together week in week out. He would also get to play with another young sensation like him, Vinicius Jr, for whom he has shown a lot of admiration.
The 21-year-old Vinicius is a star in the making, with him proving to be one of Real Madrid’s most lethal and important players. He has made the left-wing his own this season and has successfully displaced Eden Hazard from the team, who might be in his final season at Real Madrid.
A trio of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. would be an excellent one. A dream trio, to be precise. But it will be interesting to see who gets to play in which position and how the three individuals can work together, particularly Mbappe and Vinicius, who are similar in a few aspects of the game and prefer to play on the left-wing.
It is clear that both can’t play on the left and someone has to adjust for the other. We can’t say whom out of Mbappe and Vinicius shall have to shift to the right at this moment. So let us just analyse both the scenario’s and imagine how the players might play together in that situation.
Mbappe on the left, Vinicius on the right
This might be the scenario when the manager (I can mention Carlo Ancelotti, but nothing is ever guaranteed at Real Madrid) decides to use his most prized asset in his best position. Mbappe is a player on whom a lot of money would be invested and the club would obviously want to see Mbappe play in his best and natural position, that is on the left.
Mbappe doesn’t have to prove himself as a left-winger because he has an unbelievable record, having played there for so long. He started off as a right-winger at PSG, but slowly he shifted to the left and played a big part of the last three seasons as an inverted winger on the left. It is a position where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo have unlocked their potential to the fullest, and given the similarities in their attributes, the left-wing is Mbappe’s best position.
Mbappe does register great numbers in the creative side of the game, but he is a natural goalscorer, and he will prefer to play from the left, from where he can take more shots and cut inside with relative ease.
But the problem is that Vinicius will have to play from the right, a position where he has never had consistent game time. He didn’t look convincing in the limited playing time as a right-winger, including the game against Chelsea, in which he looked clueless for some parts of the game, and couldn’t beat Ben Chilwell with his natural dribbling technique, which is more suited for the left-wing.
He did create a wonderful goal from the right-wing against Shakhtar last week, with a beautiful piece of linkup play from the right. It was a sign of progress and had shown the improvement in Vini’s overall game, but we can’t judge Vinicius the RW on the basis of one such instance.
Vinicius being a selfless player might accept the change in position, and given his extraordinary work ethic, he will look to improve his gameplay from the right. But after having a look at Vinicius’ wonderful start to the 2021/22 season, and looking at the way Vini has made the left-wing his own, it will be interesting to see if a manager would be courageous enough to change something that’s working very well.
Vinicius on the left and Mbappe on the right
When Real Madrid purchased Eden Hazard, they saw Kylian Mbappe as the missing piece of a trio comprising Benzema and Hazard, with the Frenchman expected to be the goalscorer who can play from the right. At that time, the club had high expectations on Hazard and Mbappe was a proven right-winger, and he had set the stage on fire with his performances at the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, in which he had played as a right-winger.
Fast forward to 2022, Real Madrid might have the chance to form a similar trio with Vinicius ahead of Eden Hazard. Vinicius might not be as good as Hazard in tight spaces and he isn’t that good as a controlling influence. But he can still form a wonderful trio with Mbappe on the other wing and Karim Benzema in the centre to guide both of them.
In this scenario, Mbappe might not be getting to play in his best position, but he will play in a position that isn’t new to him. His output is brilliant from the right as well, and he can easily get into goalscoring positions from the right, thanks to his searing pace, excellent awareness and positioning. He can also whip in some delicious crosses from the right while getting to link up with great team players like Dani Carvajal and Fede Valverde.
But there is one minor problem with Mbappe’s game from the right. Usually, Mbappe’s exploits from the right were possible due to his tendency to shift inwards and position himself for tap-ins, and due to his ability to outpace defenders of a high line in a 1v1 duel. But with all due respect to Ligue 1, the defending quality is much better in LaLIga, and Mbappe will have to play against parked buses and in fully stacked penalty boxes, instead of high lines which allow him some space behind them.
Those tight defences will force him into crossing or cutbacks, and he wouldn’t get much space to take a lot of shots from the right, like Rodrygo. From the left, his situation will be much better with him being a natural right-footer.
At the moment, this is only an analysis of an imaginary situation. Nothing has happened yet, and Mbappe is still a PSG player. Only time will give us the answer, and we have to wait to see Mbappe in the royal white jersey and to get an idea of how and where he will play.