New team, same result. In what appears to be a common theme, Kylian Mbappe has, once again, come up on the losing end of an important Champions League knockout fixture, and, this time, he's done it as a member of the most successful team in the history of the competition, Real Madrid.
After winning the Champions League last season, there was a common refrain sung by both Madridistas and many pundits that the best team in the world got even stronger with the free addition of Mbappe. Obviously, those more tuned into the club understood that there were grave problems related to Carlo Ancelotti's antiquated coaching strategy and an abysmal defense that was ill-equipped to handle any more significant injuries.
Those issues have reared their ugly heads in a post-Toni Kroos world that has been more difficult for Real Madrid and Ancelotti to navigate than they would have liked to admit. And the season-ending injuries to Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao have indeed been season killers.
Kylian Mbappe failed in the Champions League again
At the same time, the players on the pitch have to take accountability for their own failings, and nobody failed Real Madrid more across both legs than Kylian Mbappe, in a tie against an Arsenal side that is more than double-digits out of the Premier League title race.
Across two legs, Real Madrid could muster just one goal, which is beyond embarrassing for a team that came into the season touting the world's best attack, which has now been dwarfed by rivals Barcelona. And the lone goal Real Madrid scored was entirely the result of Vinicius Junior's individual effort to force and capitalize on a mistake that he himself created out of sheer determination.
Mbappe contributed nothing. Worse than that, he actively held the team back in the second leg by making the same mistakes that have plagued both his and Real's 2024/25 season. Although Mbappe has scored 20+ goals in LaLiga and 30+ in all competitions, he's buoyed his own stats at the expense of his team. He positions himself in ways that isolate the wingers and force them to play crosses or dribble through multiple players. Mbappe chooses to shoot instead of pass and kills attacks dead by making decisions that maximize his own shooting opportunities.
Vinicius Jr. always plays for the badge
And as Luis Enrique constantly brought up at PSG, Mbappe makes a team's defensive approach so much more difficult because he won't press or even play contain with his teammates. He hamstrings his teams by making them play with 10 men out of possession, and that's an untenable task at this level that only generational talents like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could get away with. Mbappe isn't half those players - nobody else in history is - and Real Madrid can't keep giving him a seemingly Florentino Perez-mandated pass that enables this kind of behavior.
Whereas Vinicius Jr. has been rightfully criticized for his inconsistencies this season, at least he tried against Arsenal. Mbappe created nothing for his teammates and literally had no defensive involvements. Vinicius, on the other hand, won five tackles with an interception with three key passes, five fouls drawn, and, of course, a goal. He led Real Madrid in many effort-related statistics and was the one player in the front three who looked even remotely like a threat to the Arsenal defense.
Vinicius Jr. has been far from brilliant in 2024/25 and certainly isn't absolved of any criticism. But games like this that are do-or-die show you who is willing to fight for the badge and put the team first with everything on the line. A two-time Champions League winner, Vinicius Jr. has proven that he is willing to put in this work time after time, and for all that has been said about him by his own fans this season, he did rise to the challenge at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe's clubs are underachieving
Mbappe quite obviously didn't. And for as much as some have praised him for his goal tally and highlights in his first season at Real Madrid, the team has been demonstrably worse with him in the lineup. Some of that isn't down to him, because he can't answer for a midfield that has less control without Kroos or a shambolic defense coached by a manager who seems to be rapidly declining.
However, Mbappe can be held accountable for his effort, his continued inability to perform in the Champions League knockouts, and his apparent unwillingness to engage postiively with his teammates and play as part of a team. Mbappe is showing serious red flags in the business stretch of the season when most "face of the franchise" players at Real Madrid like Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul always brought their best at these stages.
Mbappe is a bigger problem to Real Madrid than Vinicius Jr., and if that were ever up for debate despite Vini Jr.'s track record at the club, then it was 100 percent sealed against Arsenal. There is a path for Mbappe to be successful at Real Madrid, and his story at the Bernabeu is far from written. But he needs to take serious steps to rewriting that, because, at this point, his club footballing career is a tale of a self-focused underachiever with more talent and headlines than credible accolades.