Real Madrid: Kylian Mbappé missing in action, Álvaro Arbeloa comes to his defense

25.02.26 FT Champions League

Real Madrid

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Benfica

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Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Álvaro Arbeloa stood up for Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman has gone two games without scoring.

It's now two matches in a row where Kylian Mbappé has failed to find the back of the net. Against Benfica in last Tuesday's first leg of the Champions League playoff, and again on the road against Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday (a 2-1 defeat), the French star couldn't get on the scoresheet.

On the eve of the second leg against the Lisbon side, Álvaro Arbeloa was asked about Mbappé's central positioning. "Should he be seen more as a true number nine? I don't think his problem is about scoring goals. It's neither about scoring nor the way he does it. He makes decisions on the pitch, and if there's one thing to highlight about him, it's his intelligence. He knows exactly where to be. Sometimes he needs to create chances inside the box, other times outside. But Kylian knows perfectly well what he has to do out there, and just looking at his stats is enough to see he does it superbly," he explained.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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