Missed chance and penalty miss against Betis, Mbappé under fire from Spanish critics

Real Madrid lost 1-0 away at Betis Seville on Friday evening, and it is Kylian Mbappé who is bearing the brunt of criticism in the aftermath. The French international missed a clear opportunity in the first half before failing to convert a penalty late in the match, handing Barcelona the chance to move top of La Liga.

Despite scoring four goals since the start of the season, Mbappé has failed to convince sections of the Madrid fanbase. On Cadena COPE, journalist Juanma Castaño articulated the persistent unease: “There is a part of madridismo that is not with Mbappé. There is a kind of wound that remains with certain madridistas, I don’t know if they have forgiven him for the negative things of recent years.” He recalled that the club has won no titles since the Frenchman’s arrival, adding that the striker “did not want to come”, had made “certain teammates unhappy” and had his mind on the World Cup at the end of last season.

Mbappé’s lack of defensive commitment is the other major grievance. On Cadena SER, consultant Javier Herraez targeted both the Frenchman and Vinicius Jr: “Mbappé and Vinicius are good, but in modern football, everyone has to run. They run when it suits them. If they ran a bit more, it could help the rest of the players.” The two stars are accused of overloading the midfield by refusing to participate in collective pressing.

The Madrid press is equally unforgiving. The newspaper AS is particularly harsh: “After two seasons, Kylian Mbappé has proved nothing. We know he is a superb striker and his statistics prove it, but he is not a leader, nor even an example to others. He cannot be an important player for Real Madrid if he simply contents himself with scoring goals. He must bring more.”

With Barcelona extending their lead at the top of the league, the pressure on Mbappé to make a collective impact — and not merely a statistical one — has never been greater since his arrival in Spain.