With the injury of Brazilian Vinicius Junior, the defending champion Real Madrid star, and his inability to participate in the match against Liverpool on Wednesday in the fifth round of the Champions League, French star Kylian Mbappe will become the main offensive weapon for the royal team, while German runner-up Borussia Dortmund seeks to surpass Dynamo. Zagreb, Croatia.
The French national team captain suffered a difficult start in the Spanish capital, both on and off the field, but he was able to end his five-match goal drought by scoring a goal against Leganes the day before yesterday, Sunday, in the Spanish League.
For the first time, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti played him in his preferred position on the left wing, and Mbappe rewarded his coach, who had always defended him, by scoring the opening goal at the Butarque Stadium during a 3-0 victory.
This goal was made by Vinicius, who will be absent for 3 weeks after suffering a hamstring injury, which means that the responsibility of providing offensive solutions will fall on Mbappe, starting with the match against Liverpool – tomorrow, Wednesday – at Anfield.
Ancelotti and Mbappe
Liverpool tops the group standings in the Champions League, while Real Madrid occupies 18th place after two surprising defeats to French Lille and Italian Milan in the first 4 matches.
Vinicius scored 4 goals in the prestigious continental competition, while Mbappe settled for only one goal.
Despite scoring 7 goals in 12 league matches, Mbappe’s performance did not live up to the expectations associated with his great stardom.
The player, who rose to prominence at the beginning of his career with Monaco, was excluded from his country’s national team squad in the last two international windows, but he believes that he is gradually gaining harmony with his teammates in Madrid.
Ancelotti was hesitant at first to give Mbappe time to play on the left side at the expense of Vinicius, who also prefers to play on the flanks rather than deep.
But with Mbappe scoring only one goal in 7 matches as a central striker before the match with Leganes, the coach decided to modify his plan by swapping positions between them, although Ancelotti explained that the decision was motivated by physical fitness.
Mbappe is included in a dual attacking line with Englishman Jude Bellingham as an option to play alongside him, after the latter played a deeper role this season.
Liverpool and Salah
As for Liverpool, which is experiencing a wonderful season, its celebrations were spoiled by the statements of its Egyptian star Mohamed Salah. The “Pharaohs” captain said that he feels “outside” the club, as he approaches the end of his current contract.
The contract of the 32-year-old player, who scored 12 goals in all competitions this season, expires next summer, and Liverpool have not yet submitted an offer to extend it.
Salah is one of three key players who will soon enter the final six months of their contracts with Liverpool, as the contracts of Dutchman Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold also expire at the end of the season.
Facing Real is supposed to be the most difficult for Liverpool this season so far. The Spanish club is considered a complex for its English counterpart, as Liverpool lost 7 of the last eight confrontations between them (they tied once).
Dutchman Arne Slot hopes to lead Liverpool to 5 consecutive victories in a major European competition, for the second time in the club’s history.
A difficult visit to Juventus
In Zagreb, runner-up Dortmund will host Dynamo, aiming to achieve a fourth win and remain among the top eight.
The German team presents fluctuating results, winning only 3 times in the last 7 matches, losing 4 of them in various competitions.
This will be Dortmund’s first visit to Croatia in the European competition, and it hopes to end the series of bad results away from home, as since its victory over Belgian Club Brugge in the first round, it has lost 6 consecutive matches away from home in various competitions.
Italian Juventus travels to England to meet Aston Villa, which surprised German Bayern Munich by beating them 1-0 in the second round.
Despite not losing in the past six matches in the league and Champions League, the “Old Lady” team tied 4 times while visiting Villa Park, where the Italian clubs lost in the last 3 visits and all of them failed to score a goal.
In fact, Juventus itself was the Italian team that scored at this stadium, in 1983 in a 2-1 win.
The task will not be easy for Spanish coach Unai Emery, who has previously defeated Juventus with two different clubs (with Sevilla in 2015 and Villarreal in 2022), and hopes to become the first coach ever to defeat Juventus with 3 different clubs.
Monaco, the third French club, seeks to continue its positive results and achieve its fourth victory against its guest, Benfica of Portugal.
