Advertisement

'Entry to hell' - Kylian Mbappe ripped apart by Spanish media after Real Madrid loss to Liverpool

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


What a night for Liverpool and Arne Slot. And what an opportune time to end a run of eight games against Real Madrid without victory.

But while the Reds basked in goals from Alexis Mac Allister and substitute Cody Gakpo maintaining their 100% start to the Champions League and keeping them top of the table, in Spain the reaction to another setback for the Bernabeu side has been one of concern.

With three games remaining in the opening stage, Real Madrid stand in 24th place, the final berth that would earn qualification to the knockout stages. And the Spanish media weren't impressed with one player in particular.

READ MORE: 'It seems wrong' - National media love what Liverpool did to Real Madrid did in superb seven minutes

READ MORE: Liverpool man on a different level to Jude Bellingham as Real Madrid distraction clear

"The new Champions League has become a torture for the King of Europe," declared Marca. "They lost at Anfield despite having a decent game, thanks to the dominance of their goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.

"Kylian Mbappe did not appear on the day when he was most needed, without Vini. The Frenchman prolonged his melancholy, disconnected, against a superior Liverpool.

"In reality, it established the current gap between Liverpool, 15 out of 15 in the Champions League, and Real Madrid, 24th. The European champions are on the ropes."

In a separate opinion article, the Spanish news outlet said: "Madrid played as they do not usually do. Too far back, too tight-fisted, because one thing is to play on the counter and another very different thing is to barely get past the centre of the field and risk everything to keep the initial 0-0.

"The fact is that Madrid was not Madrid, it cowered against a Liverpool that controlled the game as it wanted and had enough chances to win by more goals. However, Madrid could have changed its future if Mbappe had not missed that penalty. He did nothing throughout the game. Everything indicated that it could be his night with Vinicius not being there and having the whole left wing and the whole attack to himself, but no way. He did not give a damn.

"Madrid seems to be walking alone in this Champions League and did so alone at Anfield. It is true that they have many injuries, but to lose like they did against Liverpool, it is better for them to do so with other weapons and not with such caution, not to mention fear."

Oh, and there was more on Mbappe. "It was not Kylian's night, football did want to give him one last chance to redeem himself,," they penned. "Kelleher, the greatest 'penalty stopper' in the history of Liverpool, decided that his entry to hell had a one-way ticket but no return."

Over at AS, they were no more enthused. "Arne Slot did not touch a line from his manual," they wrote. "He covered the absent Alisson and the injured Alexander-Arnold with the Irishmen Kelleher and Bradley and chose the youth player Jones for the rotating position of attacking midfielder.

"A team made to attack and that went out to attack, as its fans demand, but with the retreat always in mind. That has been the additive of the Dutch coach to the legacy left to him by Klopp. It is evident at first glance and can be read in the results in more detail.

"That 'This is Anfield' appears at the end of the tunnel to the dressing rooms is not only a reminder of the responsibility assumed by the home team, but a warning of what awaits the visitors. Madrid understood it, and behaved without the ball, from the start, as in its best moments of last season: dedicated, supportive, concentrated, not at all permissive. With the ball, the situation worsened: few exits, little threat, little precision.

"And the fact is that Liverpool's midfielders are two good stoppers. Gravenberch, Slot's redemption work, bites. Mac Allister has something British about him other than his surname. Before the break, both were cautioned."

They also didn't have much love for Mbappe. "Worst of all, Mbappe played very badly, he was a downright useless element," they said. "He was expected on this occasion, in the absence of Vinicius, but he caused the biggest disappointment on the first day. On top of not creating any danger, he missed a penalty well crafted by Lucas Vazquez. Terrible.

"Up front everything was lost on Mbappe, a drain through which all the attacks escaped. It started badly, continued badly and ended badly."

Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo got straight to the point. "A European debacle for Real Madrid against an unbeatable Liverpool in Europe that showed all the shame of the white team," they stated.