Kylian Mbappé’s first season with Real Madrid was a clear case of slow burn turned explosive payoff.
He finished with 44 goals, won the Golden Boot, and produced outstanding numbers overall – even if major trophies eluded him. But those early months were far from easy, marked by a handful of difficult moments. One of them came during the Clásico at the Bernabéu on October 26, 2024 – exactly a year before Madrid and Barcelona meet again this Sunday at the same venue.
The context this time is very different. Mbappé arrives fully settled in Madrid, having already scored 15 goals in 12 matches this season. He failed to find the net against Juventus, but created several chances and was denied only by an extraordinary performance from Di Gregorio. And after that rough introduction, he’s now used to the intensity of El Clásico. Not so much in that first one – a nightmare 0-4 loss at home – but in those that followed, where he struck five times against Barça: once in the Supercopa final, once in the Copa del Rey final, and a hat-trick in the league return fixture. It didn’t change Madrid’s fate that season, but it sent a message to their eternal rival.
The night he couldn’t stay onside
That first Clásico, though, became memorable for the wrong reasons. Mbappé was caught offside eight times, an astonishing number. The buildup had focused on Hansi Flick’s high defensive line and how Mbappé’s pace might tear it apart – but it worked the other way around. The Frenchman repeatedly fell into Flick’s trap, and both of his would-be goals were disallowed for offside: one clearly, the other by mere inches after a long VAR check.
He never came close to that figure again all season. His next highest tally came against Valencia, when he strayed offside four times – half as many. He ended the year averaging 0.93 offsides per game, aware that it was a detail he needed to polish. Yet this season began with déjà vu: against Mallorca, in what was until this week his only scoreless match, he was flagged offside three times and had two goals ruled out, one by centimeters – just like in that first Clásico.
Xabi Alonso: “It can be improved”
Coach Xabi Alonso didn’t sound alarmed, but admitted it was an area to refine. “I’m not worried at all that he didn’t score. He had several chances, and he was offside by millimeters. That kind of thing can be trained – it’s something that can be improved. But I’m not overly concerned.”
And improve he has. Across the season so far, Mbappé is averaging 0.92 offsides per game, nearly identical to last year’s figure, but with a steady decline in recent matches. Since that Mallorca game, he’s been flagged only seven times in nine appearances – a drop to 0.78 per match. Against Villarreal, a team that also defends with a high line like Barça, he wasn’t caught offside once. Step by step, Mbappé has learned how to stay clear of the traps Flick will surely set again.