Real Madrid News
Espanyol take brutal dig at Real Madrid superstar after controversial incident in the penalty box
Real Madrid left the RCDE Stadium with three points after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Espanyol, with Jude Bellingham and Carlos Espi getting the goals.
It was a win that marked Jose Mourinho’s first official victory as manager since his return to the club, and there were signs of promise.
One incident in particular that caused controversy involved Vinicius Junior and has continued long after the final whistle.
Espanyol aim sarcastic message at Vinicius
Espanyol used their official social media account to take a thinly disguised swipe at the Brazilian after believing he should have received a second yellow card for simulation.
“After how many dives do you get a second yellow? Asking for a friend,” Espanyol posted.
While the tweet as such does not explicitly name Vinicius, there was little mystery about its intended target.
The incident came when Vinicius went down inside the Espanyol penalty area following slight contact from Edu Exposito.
The Madrid forward wanted a penalty, but referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez waved away his appeal and VAR did not intervene.
The frustration from Espanyol came from the fact that Vinicius had already been booked following an earlier confrontation with Alex Calatrava.
Espanyol wanted second yellow
There is a good possibility that the Madrid winger might have been given a yellow for simulation had he not already been on a booking.
Had that happened, Mourinho’s team would have been reduced to 10 men with more than half an hour remaining.
From Espanyol’s perspective, they are right to believe that such a sending-off could have changed the final result of the game.
However, there is some discussion to be had from the other direction too.
Madrid would have been justified in feeling Calatrava himself was fortunate to remain on the pitch after several incidents involving the Brazilian, including an early challenge and another foul.
Vinicius at centre of a heated encounter
It was an uncomfortable evening for Vinicius, whose battle with Espanyol’s players became one of the major themes of the match.
Jose Mourinho subsequently defended his winger and criticised what he described as persistent “bullying” of the Brazilian, while acknowledging that Vinicius himself is not always blameless.
While Espi’s winner on his official debut ultimately gave Mourinho a 2-1 victory, the discussion seems to have taken a different tangent.
It is a new season in La Liga, and opponents continue to target Vinicius, and it remains to be seen how Jose goes about protecting him this season.
Kylian Mbappe’s blistering start to the season has already hit its first bump, with the Real Madrid forward’s missed penalty against Real Betis exposing an area of his game that has historically been less reliable.
Mbappe had given Madrid fans plenty of reasons for optimism in the opening weeks.
He scored a hat-trick against Real Sociedad before finding the net again against Malaga, making it four goals across his first three matches of the season.
The performance against Betis, though, was a different story.
Mbappe struggled to make the same impact and then missed an injury-time penalty, with Alvaro Valles making the save as Madrid eventually suffered a 0-1 defeat.
Mbappe’s penalty numbers make uncomfortable reading
Mbappe’s latest miss adds to a record that is far from elite when compared with some of Real Madrid’s previous specialists.
Including the Betis penalty, Mbappe has now missed 16 of the 81 penalties he has taken during his career, excluding shoot-outs. That represents a failure rate of 19.7%.
His numbers with Real Madrid are even less convincing, having converted 19 of 24 penalties for the club, meaning his miss rate stands at 20.8%, effectively one missed penalty in every five attempts.
Mbappe’s record compared with Madrid legends
The comparison with Real Madrid’s previous penalty takers provides better context.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed only 13 of his 92 penalties, giving him a miss rate of 14.1%. Sergio Ramos was considerably more dependable, missing just one of his 23 attempts, which is a rate of 4.3%.
All three sets of figures exclude penalty shoot-outs, making the comparison more relevant to normal match situations.
Mbappe therefore has work to do if he is to reach the level of reliability expected from a team’s primary penalty taker.
Sure, his overall goalscoring numbers remain outstanding, but penalties are an important part of that production.
Mourinho should keep faith with Mbappe
Meanwhile, there is little reason for Jose Mourinho or the Real Madrid dressing room to lose confidence in Mbappe because of one miss on matchday four.
His opening performances, particularly the hat-trick against Real Sociedad, provide ample evidence of his quality, and the greater concern may be psychological rather than tactical.
Mbappe’s confidence from the spot will be worth watching, especially because of what he is chasing this season.
The Ballon d’Or, Pichichi and Golden Boot are all among his ambitions, and penalties offer a valuable route towards the goals required for those prizes.
