Mith Panchal
Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid has been a transfer saga of this decade, but it finally seems to be coming to an end with Mbappe’s contract expiring with PSG this summer.
Real Madrid’s obsession with assembling the best players in one squad is also very evident and thus the most obvious destination for Kylian Mbappe is Real Madrid.
Ever since Benzema’s departure Real Madrid has played without a striker in a 4-4-2 Diamond formation and has worked quite well for them all thanks to Jude Bellingham.
Now with Mbappe’s arrival, what should be the best course of action, Should Real Madrid stick or tweak their formation and what is the best way to employ Kylian Mbappe into this Real Madrid squad?
In this article, I put my Football Manager brain to work and look at the possible ways that Kylian Mbappe can fit into this Real madrid XI.
How Will Real Madrid lineup with Kylian Mbappe
Real Madrid’s Summer Transfer’s
Before we get into the formations and tactics let’s first quickly look at what is expected in the transfer window from the Los Blancos.
Toni Kroos and Luka Modric’s contracts are expiring at the end of the summer and it looks more and more likely that Luka Modric will leave at the end of the summer, on the other hand, Real Madrid wants to extend Toni Kroos for one more season and he is more likely stay.
Apart from Kylian Mbappe, Madrid are heavily linked with a move for Alphonso Davies to strengthen the full-back position.
Thus I’m expecting both Kylian Mbappe and Alphonso Davies to arrive in the summer and Toni Kroos to stay and will be constructing the team accordingly.
Stick with the 4-4-2 Diamond
Since the Departure of Benzema, Carlo Ancelotti has deployed a 4-4-2 Diamond formation with both Vini and Rodrygo playing centrally and Jude Bellingham sitting at the top of the diamond and it has worked very well for us. So Why try to fix something that’s not broken?
So If Carlo chooses to stick to the Diamond it would make perfect sense and this is how it would look.
Lineup :
Starting from the back, Thibaut Courtois will return in goal, with Rudiger and Militao as the first choice center back pair, flanked by Dani Carvajal on the right and Alphonso Davies on the left.
The Midfield diamond will consist of Tchouaméni as the Defensive midfielder with Kroos and Valverde on either side of his and Bellingham at the top of the Diamond.
Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe will be the starting attackers with Rodrygo on the bench.
How will the 4-4-2 work?
Real Madrid’s gameplay will be very much similar to what we have played this season, With Mbappe and Vinicius in the frontline the idea will be for Vinicius to stay wide on the left and Mbappe to utilize all the central spaces.
Dani Carvajal will provide the Width on the right with Fede Valverde covering for him when he overlaps.
With the Arrival of Alphonso Davies, the left flank will be even more lethal, Davies can carry the Ball into the opponent’s half all by himself and in this madrid team, he can provide an outlet for Vini jr on the overlap in case Vini decides to cut inside with Mbappe and Jude Bellingham operating centrally.
Amongst all the chaos Toni Kroos will be the one controlling the flow of the game, with his press resistance and the ability to receive the ball deep and push it forward with his pin point passes.
Now with all this attacking talent Real Madrid will be very much vulnerable to counterattacks and that is where Tchouaméni comes in. He will have to do what Casemiro used to do for Madrid and disrupt the opposition’s play before it reaches our backline.
Madrid can also use Camavinga instead of Kroos for more defensive stability.
Going back to the 4-3-3
Real Madrid has used the 4-3-3 formation for a long time, and the only reason Carlo Ancelotti shuffled the formation was because Madrid didn’t have a striker. Now with Mbappe’s arrival Real Madrid might want to go back to the 4-3-3.
Lineup:
The backline will stay the same in whichever formation Real Madrid play. The Biggest change will be in the midfield with Kroos dropping to the bench and Bellingham dropping a little deeper in the midfield alongside Valverde.
Madrid will line up with an attacking trio of Vini jr, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo.
How will the 4-3-3 work?
The last time madrid played in the 4-3-3 we had Benzema dropping a little deep to receive the ball in midfield allowing both Vini and Rodrygo to make runs in behind.
Now Mbappe is a Striker who likes to run at defenders and is more of a ball progressor so the ball distribution job will fall on Jude Bellingham.
Vini Jr will again occupy the wide left space hugging the touchline allowing Kylian Mbappe to operate more freely in between lines (i.e. The left halfspaces) from where he can receive the ball from wide and attack the goal.
Rodrygo also tends to Tuckin centrally while playing from the right thus he opens another option for Mbappe inside the box with Carvajal or Valverde making the overlapping runs on the right.
Tchouaméni’s role again becomes very crucial when the opposition counters and he will need support from Bellingham who will have to drop deep of the ball and also carry the ball from defense to attack while transitioning.
Alphonso Davies will also have to run up on down the flanks tirelessly as Real Madrid’s focus will be to create overloads on the left with Vini, Mbappe, and Rodrygo fluidly interchanging positions.
Adapting to a new 4-2-2-2
This one might sound like it is straight outta Fifa but 4-2-2-2 might work perfectly with the set of players Real Madrid have. We have seen Real Madrid transition into a similar formation during this season in between games so it isn’t as unusual as it sounds.
Lineup:
Again the defense remains the same, but here we see the 2 Frenchmen- Camavinga and Tchouaméni forming a double-pivot in front of the backline with Vini jr playing on the left flank and Fede Valverde on the right.
Kylian Mbappe will be the Left forward somewhat similar to what he plays with the French national team and Jude Bellingham will play as the withdrawn forward or the false nine.
How will the 4-2-2-2 work?
Real Madrid has one of the best midfield talents in the team and thus it only makes sense that Madrid use all of them to good effect.
Jude Bellingham has shown his ability to be a threat on goal and play further up the pitch almost as a striker, and Valverde is a workhorse who can fit in almost any position in the midfield.
Having a Double Pivot of Camavinga and Tchouaméni will not only provide a shield in front of the backline but it will allow Alphonso Davies to make more attacking runs.
Both Vini jr and Kylian Mbappe like to operate on the left and in this formation both of them will play on their strengths, with Vini utilizing the wide spaces while Mbappe cuts in from the left half space receiving the ball from either, Bellingham or Vini.
Valverde could provide the width on the right or he could tuck in the midfield to create an overload while also allowing Carvajal to make the overlapping runs.
Defensively Real Madrid will have Both Camavinga and Tchouaméni to disrupt the opposition’s counterattacks allowing enough time for the backline to get its shape back.
Conclusion:
The Arrival of Kylian Mbappe will be very exciting for the Real Madrid fans who have been waiting for a few years now.
However, integrating him into an already stacked Real Madrid team without disrupting the balance of the team will be a challenge for Carlo Ancelotti.
Ultimately, the optimal formation will depend on Ancelotti’s tactical preferences and the team’s performance against different opponents.
Regardless of the chosen strategy, one thing is certain: Kylian Mbappe’s arrival promises to make Real Madrid an even more exciting and potent force on the global stage.
