Real Madrid find themselves in need of inspiration as they take on AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Madrid-based club got a wake-up call after losing 0-4 to arch-rivals Barcelona in a game where team talisman Kylian Mbappe was chained by Barca with their offside trap.
Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid from PSG this season, has scored eight goals in 14 appearances. But more alarmingly for Real Madrid, he has managed just one goal in his past five games.
Now, club legend Karim Benzema has offered his France teammate some advice to thrive at Real Madrid.
Karim Benzema advised Kylian Mbappe to shift to being a striker, rather than playing on his preferred spot on the left flank.
“The problem for me is that Mbappé is not a center forward. Whenever he plays as a ‘9’ for France, he doesn’t perform well; that’s not his position,” Benzema explained in an interview with Edu Aguirre on El Chiringuito de Jugones. “He (Mbappe) has to get it into his head that he needs to be a No ‘9’ and forget about the left. He’s been great on the left, but now he has to excel in a different role.”
Benzema raised the point that Real Madrid have Kylian Mbappe and Vinícius Júnior who both like to play on the left, raising a headache for manager Carlo Ancelotti to accommodate both players.
Real Madrid were booed by their own fans in the defeat to Barcelona, the second game in a row they had endured the wrath of the fans since they were also confronted by unhappy fans in the game against Borussia Dortmund as well, where they were trailing 2-0 at halftime before rallying to win 5-2.
Benzema said that the increased scrutiny from fans was to be expected when you play for a club of the stature of Real Madrid. Madrid are the defending La Liga champions and the Champions League title-holders.
“My situation in my first year and Kylian’s is different. I was 21 years old, and he is 25; it’s not the same. He knows there’s a lot of pressure at Real Madrid. If you don’t score in two or three matches, they’ll criticise you. He needs to learn to live with that pressure,” Benzema said.
