Champions League: Mbappé and Real face the biggest challenge of their season

After two defeats in the last three days of the Champions League, Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid, reigning European champion, face the biggest challenge of their start to the season on Wednesday: bringing back points from their trip to Liverpool in the absence of Vinicius Junior.

The King of Europe is up against the wall. A red wall, which saw the older ones break their teeth on it. Decimated by injuries (Carvajal, Tchouaméni, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior…), the Spanish giant in 15 Champions Leagues must necessarily win on the pitch at Anfield, or, at the very least, not concede a third defeat in five days which would greatly complicate his journey towards a 16th crown, the objective stated upon the arrival of Kylian Mbappé this summer.

Real, undefeated in its last eight clashes with the English club, including the two C1 finals in 2018 and 2022, certainly has history on its side. But the dynamic is very favorable to the Reds, authors of an almost perfect start to the season under the orders of their new coach, Arne Slot, with 16 victories in 18 matches in all competitions.

Four out of four

At the top of the Premier League and the unified ranking of this new format Champions League, Liverpool is the only team to have won its first four C1 matches, against AC Milan (3-1), Leipzig (1-0) , Bologna (2-0) and Bayer Leverkusen (4-0). His last setback on his lawn in the competition? February 21, 2023, against Real (5-2), precisely.

That evening, the Reds, who were leading two goals to zero in the 15th minute, ended up drowned in Madrid’s fury, carried by Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, irresistible and authors of a double each. Neither one, who left for Saudi Arabia, nor the other, injured in the thigh, will be there on Wednesday to support Kylian Mbappé, expected as a savior by Merengue supporters for this crucial clash, after two major missed meetings against the Barça (4-0) and AC Milan (3-1), and a complicated period on and off the field.

Time to shine

With the void left by the Brazilian Vinicius, so often decisive in major matches over the last three seasons, “attention will be focused more than ever on the Frenchman” on Wednesday, assures the daily AS in an editorial.

“He scores goals, but he seems weakened. He still can’t find his footwork. Without Vinicius, he will occupy his favorite position, the left side of the attack, without any competition. “It’s a critical moment for Madrid, but ideal for Mbappé,” said the newspaper. Time to shine, finally.

ATS