Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has left the door open to the idea of resting Kylian Mbappé during a match. The Frenchman is Carlo Ancelotti’s third most used player this season, but some of the club’s followers are questioning his playing time.
“For a great player like Mbappé, who will become number one again sooner or later, what is the best solution currently? Play him for 90 minutes? 70 minutes? 30 minutes? Or put him on the bench?” At a press conference this Friday, the question was posed formally to Carlo Ancelotti. But it is a question that is increasingly present in the Spanish media.
Should Kylian Mbappé take a turn on the bench before moving forward? “We have to support him, even if supporting him doesn’t mean he’s going to play every game. Sometimes, maybe a day off can do him good,” replied the Real Madrid coach.
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The Italian technician opens a door that until then was double-closed: the possibility of seeing Kylian Mbappé not play, or not start, a Real match. Since his arrival last August, the Frenchman has been an absolute fixture in Madrid’s starting lineup.
Injured against Atlético, he has only been absent from the match sheet once this season. Three days later, he returned to the game against Lille without even being 100%. At the end of the week, on October 5, he was already starting against Villarreal, even though he had not joined the Blues immediately.
Mbappé replaced once in the last seven matches
With his 19 starts and 1,674 minutes in his legs this season, Kylian Mbappé is the third player most used by Carlo Ancelotti, behind Federico Valverde and Antonio Rüdiger.
During his 19 starts, the Frenchman only came off once before the 80th minute (against Villarreal, after his return from injury). A trend which has intensified in recent weeks despite its poor form. Over the last seven matches, Kylian Mbappé has only been replaced once, in the 83rd Leganés. This means he played 623 of the last possible 630 minutes excluding added time.
During this period, he only scored one goal. Enough to make certain observers think that a turn on the bench would not do any harm to the former Parisian. “He needs to calm down and it wouldn’t be bad if in some matches he stayed on the bench to soak up the atmosphere,” said former Madrid player Pedrag Mijatovic on the show El Larguero.
But seeing Mbappé on the bench, is that really realistic? This does not seem to be in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans, who asks for “patience” with his player. However, the Italian technician did mention the possibility of resting the Frenchman.
A need for mental rest rather than physical?
This would not seem to be a decision taken based on his physical condition, since he benefited from two international breaks to make up for the delay caused by his truncated preparation. His physical condition is no longer really a subject in Madrid, although it was at the heart of the debates at the start of the season. Internally, his rapid ability to recover after his injury had amazed more than one.
Would the “rest” mentioned by Carlo Ancelotti then be mental rest? Asked again this Friday about the mental state of Kylian Mbappé this Friday, the coach did not give further details on the question. “Speculating about his mental health is ugly,” he cut it short at the end of November. This weekend against Girona, Carlo Ancelotti should count on Kylian Mbappé. Vinicius Jr. is expected to face Atalanta Bergamo next Tuesday.
