It was half-time during Real Madrid‘s first LaLiga game of the season vs. Real Mallorca, and midfielder Jude Bellingham had some feedback for forwards Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes: “You three, finish the attacks!”
As the four players waited in the Mallorca tunnel to head back on the pitch, Bellingham’s analysis — picked up by a broadcaster’s microphone — couldn’t have been more candid. Yes, Madrid were leading 1-0, but they needed to be more clinical. “Because the run back…” Bellingham continued, smiling ruefully at the thought of having to put in more of a shift after an already exhausting first half, before swearing loudly.
Just 45 minutes into the new season, Real Madrid’s dilemma was perfectly summed up in a few words. How do you fit Mbappé into a side already packed with attacking threat? And can you do so…
