Real Madrid’s loss to Real Betis, despite the result against Inter, will still sting the fans for a while. It is not just the fact that they lost to a team that has given them trouble in recent years, it is also the way they lost.
They looked good going forward, but it does not take a genius to figure out that they lacked the bite in front of goal. They created an xG of over three goals in the match, but they were not able to score any of their chances.
The main culprits were the two Real Madrid forwards, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, both of whom missed a lot of chances in that game.
One of those chances – perhaps the biggest one – was the penalty that the French superstar missed. It could have given Real Madrid a point, and a chance to fight for two more, but the penalty was saved, meaning Real Madrid went home empty-handed.
Because of that, there has been a huge discussion online about whether Mbappe should remain the primary penalty-taker of Real Madrid. The answer is more obvious than you may think: yes!
Kylian Mbappe is by far Real Madrid's best penalty-taker
Real Madrid do not have one single reliable penalty taker who is as consistent as the Frenchman. Yes, he has missed penalties in the past, the one against Betis was weak, but is there a single player on the team more reliable from the spot than Mbappe? Jude Bellingham has had a few cool penalties, and has shown that he can take good ones from time to time, but even he missed one of the few which he has taken.
Vinicius Junior, when he was taking penalties regularly for Real Madrid, never gave fans that reassurance that they get with Mbappe now. He has scored some important ones, but he has also missed many important ones, and in general, he does not look like a player who is a good high-volume penalty taker.
Who else are you going to put on the spot kicks? Trent Alexander-Arnold? Bernardo Silva, who missed his penalty against Real Madrid a couple of years ago? Carlos Espi, who is not a starter anyway? Fede Valverde, who has never taken many penalties in his career?
It makes no sense for fans to even have this discussion in the first place. If we compare the statistics for the two most successful and high-volume penalty takers for Real Madrid, Mbappe plays Vinicius Junior out of the park.
Mbappe has scored 65 penalties out of a possible 81, with an 80.02% scoring rate. Vinicius Junior, on the other hand, has scored 13 out of 19, which accounts for about 68.4% of penalties taken.
Not only has Mbappe simply scored more penalties, but he also has a higher success rate despite taking more. Bellingham has an 80% rate out of just five penalties, which makes Mbappe’s record even more ridiculous.
There is no discussion to be had. Mbappe is the best penalty shooter Real Madrid have, and he should continue doing what he does better than all the players on the team. Next question, please.
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